Departmental Alcoholic Drinks

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what measures are in place in her Office to monitor expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes.

Tessa Jowell: The Minister for the Olympics' Office is part of the Cabinet Office.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1433W.

Departmental Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by her Office was from recycled sources in each of the last two years.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1257W.

Departmental Procurement

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her Office's policy is on requesting discounts from its suppliers in return for swift payment of invoices.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1258W.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer to the right the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government Departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department has participated in the fund, broken down by  (a) domestic,  (b) short-haul and  (c) long-haul flights.

Paul Murphy: My Department has offset air miles in the last two financial years through Pure, The Pure Carbon Trust. In 2006-07 we offset 8,888 miles. This was made up of:
	2,002 miles domestic
	0 miles short-haul
	6,886 miles long-haul
	In 2007-08 we offset 6,173 miles made up of:
	4,556 miles domestic
	1,617 miles short-haul
	0 miles long-haul
	We will be offsetting through the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in the future.

Departmental Consultants

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many consultants were hired by the offices now comprising the Government's Equalities Office in 2006-07, broken down by  (a) age,  (b) gender,  (c) sexual orientation,  (d) race,  (e) disability and  (f) religion or belief.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 15 July 2008
	The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007. Since that date it has taken over responsibility for equality issues from a number of different teams and Departments, including: the Disability Rights Commission Sponsorship team, based in 2006-07 in the Department for Work and Pensions; the Commission for Racial Equality Sponsorship Team, based in the Home Office in the first part of 2006-07, then transferred to Communities and Local Government; the Women and Equality Unit, based in the Department for Trade and Industry until May 2006, then in Communities and Local Government; and lawyers from DTI and HO, who transferred to CLG in May 2006. Because of the wide disposal of records in a number of different Departments and locations, the cost of answering this question would be disproportionate.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework since its establishment.

Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007. The following table shows it's spending on external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information public relations framework since 12 October 2007.
	
		
			  Public relations and marketing companies   £ 
			 SHAHRP Media relations support for launch of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Women's' Taskforce. 3,800 
			 Trimedia Media relations support for GEO Press Office in the run up to Equality Bill announcements. 20,000 
			 Cohn and Wolfe Campaign to raise awareness of the rights of parents and carers to request flexible working, and to provide employers with guidance on dealing with such requests. 61,085

Equal Opportunities: Legislation

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she plans to publish an Equality Bill; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 10 September 2008
	As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Women and Equality announced in Parliament on 25 June 2008, the Government remain committed to introducing an Equality Bill during this Parliament.
	The content of the Bill has been subject to collective consideration by Ministers in the normal way and the Government's response to the consultation, which was published on 21 July, made the intended content of the Bill clear.

Rape: Victim Support Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what proportion of the £1 million emergency fund for rape crisis centres, announced in March, has been distributed; which organisations have received such funding; how much each organisation has received; and what plans the Government has to maintain the funding for the year starting April 2009.

Barbara Follett: I will let the right hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.
	 Substantive answer from Barbara Follett to  Theresa  May:
	Eight rape crisis centres identified at imminent risk of closure have received payments totalling £175,364 (17.5 per cent.) from the £1 million emergency fund announced in March. Beneficiaries of the fund to date, and the payments they have received, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Rape crisis centre  Amount awarded  ( £ ) 
			 Eva 42,500 
			 Merseyside Rape and Sexual Abuse 23,244.07 
			 Peterborough 11,867.99 
			 West Cumbria 37,204 
			 Wycombe 46,048 
			 Cambridge 5,000 
			 Chester 5,000 
			 Watford 5,000 
			 Total 175,864.06 
		
	
	Further awards will be made in October. This one-off fund was established as an emergency measure to enable rape crisis centres to address the sustainability issues they face. It is in addition to £1.4 million of support for victims of sexual crimes, the majority of which comes from the Ministry of Justice's Victims Fund. Spending plans for the 2009-10 are being finalised.

Digital Media Sector

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on developing skills in the digital media sector; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Minister for Culture and I have had a number of conversations with colleagues across Government regarding the development of skills in the creative industries including the digital media sector. In particular, we have met the Secretary of State for Universities, Innovation and Skills and the Minister for Skills to look at how we can meet our aim for employers to create 5,000 new apprenticeship places in the creative industries by 2013.
	My Department is also working with employers, sector skills councils, trade associations, the Learning and Skills Council and other Government Departments to establish high quality innovative new places of learning, such as the planned National Skills Academy for the creative sectors in Thurrock.

Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the level of enforcement of the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of  (a) the display of premises licences in licensed premises and  (b) the display of the correct name of the designated premises supervisor in premises licences;
	(2)  how many  (a) companies and  (b) individuals have been prosecuted for breaches of the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of failure to display in licensed premises (i) premises licences and (ii) up to date details of the designated premises supervisor for those premises; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 17 September 2008
	 Information relating to prosecutions or other enforcement actions on these subjects is held centrally by the Ministry of Justice. The Licensing Act 2003 did not come fully into force until 24 November 2005. The only full year for which figures are currently available is 2006.
	The number of  (a) companies and  (b) individuals who have been proceeded against at magistrates courts under section 57 of the Licensing Act 2003 in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table. Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
	
		
			  Number of defendants who were proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under the Licensing Act section 57( 1)  in England and Wales, 2006( 2) 
			  2006  Number proceeded against 
			 Persons 3 
			 Companies 0 
			 (1) Includes the following statute(s) and corresponding offence description Licensing Act 2003 s.57. Failure to produce a premises licence or copy when required to do so. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence and Analysis Unit—Ministry of Justice Our ref: IOS 476-08 (Table) Contributions for PQ 224062 
		
	
	This data relates to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	However, this type of breach may have been dealt with informally through writing or licence review. We are confident that the range of compliance and enforcement options available to the relevant authorities are adequate to allow the enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the legislation.

Departmental Databases

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what use  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since its launch in 2005, the Department's Taking Part survey has included ACORN codes. This data has been used to examine variations in sporting and cultural participation.
	This month the Department purchased the additional Financial ACORN and Health ACORN codes as well as MOSAIC codes. These have been merged with the Taking Part survey data and results will be published later this year.
	In 2006 the Royal Parks agency used ACORN codes to examine variations in the profile of park users against the profile of residents living in close proximity to the park.

Gambling: USA

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with  (a) his EU counterparts and  (b) European Commissioners on the conclusion of negotiations between the EC and the US on the US withdrawal of its gambling commitments from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the consequent compensatory adjustments offered by the US in the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 21 July 2008
	 I have had no such discussions. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 15 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2124W, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Consumer Affairs, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Departmental Information

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what types of data have been sold by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: We can confirm that no data has been sold by the Department or its Agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations in the last 12 months.

European Social Fund: Trade Unions

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much each UK trade union, its subsidiary, received from the European Social Fund in the last period for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: In 2000-07, the Trades Union Congress received £13.16 million from the European Social Fund in England to deliver 41 employment and skills projects. The Department does not hold information on funding for individual trade unions.

Incapacity Benefit

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of awards for  (a) non-means tested incapacity benefit and  (b) income support on grounds of incapacity for work have been made to those who are terminally ill in the last three years.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 17 September 2008
	Information about the proportion of income support claimants that are terminally ill is not available. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Proportion of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants who are terminally ill 
			  Quarter ending  As a total caseload (percentage) 
			  2005  
			 May 0.03 
			 August 0.03 
			 November 0.03 
			   
			  2006  
			 February 0.03 
			 May 0.03 
			 August 0.04 
			 November 0.03 
			   
			  2007  
			 February 0.03 
			 May 0.03 
			 August 0.03 
			 November 0.03 
			   
			  2008  
			 February 0.03 
			  Notes: 1. All incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance awards are non-means tested; figures include national insurance contributions only cases. 2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3. The 'terminally ill' category comes from an indicator on the incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance data; no such indicator exists on the income support data. 4. The best statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 per cent. data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provides some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources. 5. Caseload figures have been uprated in line with WPLS 100 per cent. data and rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample

Incapacity Benefit: Applications

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new claims for non-means tested incapacity benefit were awarded to  (a) single persons aged under 35,  (b) single persons aged 35 to 44,  (c) single persons aged 35 to 65,  (d) couples in which the claimant was aged under 35,  (e) couples in which the claimant was aged 35 to 44 and  (f) couples in which the claimant was aged 35 to 65 in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 17 September 2008
	Details of partners are recorded in cases where an increase is paid for a dependant adult who is caring for a child, or where the spouse is aged 60 or over. Information is not otherwise available on those claimants who have a partner.
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New incapacity benefit claims in the 12 months to November 2007 
			   Single  With a partner 
			 Under 35 225,200 400 
			 Between 35 and 44 142,000 800 
			 Between 35 and 65 389,100 1,800 
			  Notes: 1. Incapacity benefit is not means-tested. 2. The best statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 per cent. data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provides some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources. 3. Figures are subject to a high degree of sampling error and should only be used as a guide. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. New claimant figures for the latest available quarter. (February 2008) do not include any late notifications, and have therefore not been used.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample

Departmental Information

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what types of data have been sold by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: In the last 12 months, no data has been sold by the Northern Ireland Office or its agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations.

Departmental Air Travel

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the right the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government Departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department has participated in the fund, broken down by  (a) domestic,  (b) short-haul and  (c) long-haul flights.

Shahid Malik: Since the Government Carbon Offset Fund was established, the Department for International Development's (DFID) air mileage incurred through departmental travel was as follows:
	
		
			  kilometres 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Short haul 5,964,021 6,320,553 
			 Long haul 72,475,244 67,851,587 
			 Domestic (1)— 3,932,618 
			 (1 )Domestic was not separately identified in 2006-07.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department treats underspend in each individual annual county budget; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Expected underspends in individual annual country budgets are re-allocated to other programmes within the same financial year. If this is not possible, the underspends contribute to the Department's End of Year Flexibility entitlement.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) underspend and  (b) overspend on county budgets in his Department was in each of the last five years, broken down by county.

Douglas Alexander: The following table shows underspends and overspends against budget for country programmes for the financial years 2003-04 to 2007-08.
	
		
			  Department for International Development—(over)/under spend against budgets for country programmes, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  £000 
			   (Over)/under spend 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Africa  
			  East and Central Africa  
			 Ethiopia (10,395) (6,746) 1,682 2,969 443 
			 Tanzania (2,319) (6,052) 801 636 819 
			 Sudan 9,345 859 (11,535) (304) (12,151) 
			 Democratic Republic of the Congo 8,843 (8,458) 2,708 (15,803) 2,679 
			 Uganda 8,507 2,046 3,263 1,816 8,076 
			 AED Other (11,713) (9,820) (17,614) 12,552 391 
			 Kenya 999 (2,151) (14,019) (10,615) 5,332 
			 Somalia — — — — 3,779 
			 Rwanda 6,866 1,397 (22,128) 858 (6,061) 
			 Burundi — — (2,362) 179 4,571 
			 Total 10,133 (28,925) (59,204) (7,712) 7,878 
			   
			  West and Southern Africa  
			 Nigeria (2,876) (193) (10,852) (1,227) 18,029 
			 Ghana (1,022) (4,945) (15,287) 1,913 (16,549) 
			 Malawi 3,893 (8,059) (6,014) 2,117 3,247 
			 Mozambique (2,608) (2,618) (1,437) (9,331) 3,273 
			 Sierra Leone (2,160) (5,239) 6,207 (4,799) (12,219) 
			 Zambia (664) 1,755 (6,928) 729 1,910 
			 Zimbabwe 852 3,783 2,164 940 (1,223) 
			 Southern Africa Regional (inc Lesotho, Angola) (7,637) (1,453) 7,216 1,753 13,329 
			 South Africa — — (9,543) 612 (5,707) 
			 Liberia — — — — 2,105 
			 Lesotho 189 — — — — 
			 Total (12,033) (16,969) (34,474) (7,293) 6,195 
			   
			  Pan-Africa Strategy and Programmes  
			 Africa-ATP — (2,644) — — — 
			 Africa Regional Budget 8,000 10,756 29,342 10,778 15,102 
			 Humanitarian Assistance 1,185 14,488 3 4,198 (837) 
			 Other (3,245) — — — 2,247 
			 Africa Policy Fund (7,014) (10,816) 682 (8,147) 2,943 
			 Total (1,074) 11,784 30,027 6,829 19,455 
			   
			 Africa total (2,974) (34,110) (63,651) (8,176) 33,528 
			   
			  South Asia  
			 India (17,425) (7,751) (1,938) 1,245 3,814 
			 Bangladesh 7,700 (2,962) 1,427 584 (14,808) 
			 Afghanistan 3,396 (9,142) 3,494 3,442 (1,697) 
			 Pakistan (2,221) 31,656 4,149 1,631 7,695 
			 Nepal (1,778) 1,650 (1,535) 2,029 (10,989) 
			 Asia Regional Policy and Programmes (14,552) 1,544 9,275 14,674 (3,875) 
			 Sri Lanka — — — (2,323) 980 
			 Asia Reserve (inc Post Tsunami Rehab) — 15,000 — — — 
			 South Asia total (24,880) 29,995 14,872 21,282 (18,880) 
			   
			  Europe, Middle East Americas, Central and East Asia  
			  Europe/Central Asia  
			 EU Accession/Pre Accession Countries (756) (459) (169) — — 
			 Central Asia, South Caucasus, Moldova (1,769) (1,958) 1,486 1,396 2,062 
			 Balkans 803 2,522 (1,449) (26) 687 
			 ECAD Regional 2,500 — — — (83) 
			 Ukraine 255 1,222 (474) (704) 73 
			 Russia (2,498) 923 (71) 14 125 
			 Total (1,465) 2,250 (677) 680 2,864 
			   
			  Americas/Overseas Territories  
			 Latin America (529) (2,597) (465) 336 234 
			 Caribbean 1,254 603 (451) 4,230 (574) 
			 Overseas Territories (341) 137 (1,535) (3,241) (2,049) 
			 Latin America -ATP — — — — 14 
			 Total 384 (1,857) (2,451) 1,325 (2,375) 
			   
			  Middle East/North Africa  
			 Yemen 1,575 1,131 164 (438) (3) 
			 Palestinian Authority 4,132 (856) (5,157) 39 (18,002) 
			 Middle East Regional 787 (260) (158) (59) (34) 
			 UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (4,646) 202 15 — — 
			 Iraq (4,656) (3,296) (1,174) 2,084 1,319 
			 Total (2,808) (3,079) (6,310) 1,626 (16,720) 
			   
			  EMAD Regional Programmes  
			 Research/Consultancy/EMAP Regional 22 (89) 107 (7,291) 8,175 
			 EBRD subscription (Capital) (778) 331 174 — — 
			 Other (25,990) 6,000 — — — 
			 Total (26,746) 6,242 281 (7,291) 8,175 
			   
			  South East Asia  
			 China 4,348 (7,465) 564 (3,416) 24 
			 Vietnam — — (330) 500 (341) 
			 South East Asia (3,938) 2,864 4,497 9,982 (2,468) 
			 Total 410 (4,601) 4,731 7,066 (2,785) 
			   
			 Total Europe, Middle East, Americas, Central and East Asia (30,225) (1,045) (4,426) 3,406 (10,841) 
			   
			 Total—country/regional programmes (58,079) (5,160) (53,205) 16,512 3,807

Developing Countries: Natural Disasters

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to encourage the implementation of early warning systems for natural disasters in developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: The UK believes that the most effective early warning systems are those which are owned by national governments and involve vulnerable communities, rather than focusing only on developing high-tech equipment. Examples of Department for International Development (DFID) support include:
	£1.5 million to the United Nations Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) to support an Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System (IOTWS).
	£2.15 million to an International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) disaster risk reduction programme which involved a component on early warning systems.
	£7.5 million to Bangladesh (since 2004) to improve its early warning systems through a Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme. This programme, among other things, has established a Disaster Management Information Centre which in the coming is expected to develop one nation-wide community early warning system, and implement training and simulation exercises with key technical and operational partners.

Environment Protection: Overseas Aid

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what bodies will receive funding from the £24 million allocated to eliminate illegal logging; what proportion each will receive; and what steps will be taken to eliminate such logging.

Gareth Thomas: The bulk of the £24 million—£19 million—is the UK's contribution to implementation of Voluntary Partnership Agreements under the EU's Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. These agreements will support improved forest governance in timber producing countries and implement a licensing scheme to ensure that their timber trade with the EU is legal. £12 million is for West and Central African countries and £7 million for Asian countries. Funds will go to both Government agencies and civil society organisations in these countries with allocation in each varying according to their specific programmes. The remaining £5 million is for international supporting actions, including policy research and support to civil society (approximately £1.326 million allocated to date), involvement of the private sector (£901,000 allocated to date), work with major non-EU timber importing countries (£233,000 allocated to date), and general programme coordination (£558,000 allocated to date). Further information is available on the Department for International
	Development website at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk/mdg/forest-govern-trade2.asp

Maldives: Overseas Aid

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department provided to the Maldives in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2007-08; how much it plans to provide in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: In 2005-06 Department for International Development (DFID) bilateral overseas development assistance (ODA) to the Maldives was £1 million. In 2005-06 the UK also provided £5.5 million to the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Tsunami Recovery Programme. This included £5 million through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The funds have supported four of UNDP's five tsunami projects; shelter, livelihoods, disaster risk management and aid co-ordination.
	Since 2005-06 DFID has not provided any bilateral overseas development assistance to the Maldives. However, DFID continues to provide support to the Maldives through its contribution to the European Community (EC). The amount of EC Aid provided by DFID to the Maldives in 2005 was £131,529, £915,020 in 2006, and £620,902 in 2007. There is no data available yet for 2008.

Animal Experiments: Licensing

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences were granted by her Department for the conduct of  (a) 12 month dog toxicity and  (b) carcinogenicity studies using mice for the purpose of evaluating risks of plant protection products and their ingredients in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The information requested is not readily identifiable from Home Office records. However, I can confirm that in practice 13-week dog studies are the current norm for the purpose of evaluating risks of plant protection products or their ingredients unless there is scientific justification for a longer study.

Animal Experiments: Primates

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many live primates were imported from China for use in scientific procedures in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008 to date.

Meg Hillier: In 2006 244 live non-human primates were imported to the United Kingdom from China for use in scientific procedures. In 2007 there were 50 and none to date have been imported in 2008. The numbers imported directly from China have declined since 2006 because macaques originating from the Chinese breeding centre are now exported from China to a European supplying centre where animals are held pending sale to European customers.

Community Safety Accreditation Schemes

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many imams have been accredited under the arrangements put in place by her Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government for such accreditation.

Sadiq Khan: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government supports a range of community-led training programmes for Muslim faith leaders. There are no arrangements in place for the accreditation for imams by Government.

Departmental Internet

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department paid  (a) Facebook,  (b) Bebo and  (c) other social networking sites for advertising the mylifemyid.org website; and how many hits the website received as a result of that advertising.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 10 September 2008
	We cannot provide details of the amount spent on each of those sites as the advertising was provided by a third party consolidator (uk.advertising.com) who ran the advert across a range of sites which indexed highly among the youth audience, and they do not supply clients with a breakdown of spend per site. However, as detailed in the MyLifeMyID Research document published on the Identity and Passport Service website:
	http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/publications-research.asp
	the advertising cost—including Virtual Surveys management fee—was £25,750 (excluding VAT).
	The number of people who clicked through from the adverts to a sign-up jump page which detailed the survey and encouraged them to sign-up to the forum while the advertising was running was 52,330. This works out as £0.49 per hit.

Fixed Penalties: Young People

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she gives to police forces on the issue of fixed penalty notices to offenders under 16 years of age under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	Guidance on the issue of Penalty Notices for Disorder to 10-15 year olds can be found on the Home Office website at HPolice Operational Guidance: Penalty Notices for Disorder for offences committed by young people aged 10 to 15".

Genetics: Databases

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of DNA samples were removed and destroyed from the National DNA database following a request to do so from the person from whom the DNA was taken in each year since the National DNA database has been operating, broken down by police authority area; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The number of DNA profiles produced from samples taken from individuals by police forces in England and Wales which have been removed, for all reasons, since 2002-03, and the number of profiles held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) (for England and Wales police forces) at the end of each year, are shown in table 1. Removals broken down by police force are shown in table 2.
	Information is not available breaking down removals into the number resulting from requests from the person from whom the DNA sample was taken, and the number resulting from other reasons. Details of removals before 2002-03 are not available because the NDNAD does not retain historic information; in 2002, an NDNAD management information database was created, which captures details of all record 'transactions', including the removal of records, and enabled the collection of this information from this point. As some profiles are duplicates, the number of profiles and the number of individuals these represent are not the same.
	
		
			  Table 1: England and Wales 
			   Profiles removed  Profiles held (approximate) 
			 2002-03 1,525 2,068,000 
			 2003-04 321 2,350,000 
			 2004-05 42 3,008,000 
			 2005-06 136 3,478,000 
			 2006-07 276 4,136,000 
			 2007(1) 241 4,650,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Force  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007( 1) 
			 Avon And Somerset 0 2 0 1 14 5 
			 Bedfordshire 0 1 0 2 2 2 
			 British Transport 4 1 0 3 6 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 0 0 0 2 4 
			 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 8 2 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 1 3 
			 Cleveland 0 2 2 4 0 4 
			 Cumbria 10 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Derbyshire 6 1 0 0 2 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 19 1 0 1 8 2 
			 Dorset 2 1 1 1 2 2 
			 Durham 0 0 0 0 2 4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 2 0 1 2 4 
			 Essex 6 1 0 2 3 10 
			 Gloucestershire 1 1 1 1 1 2 
			 Greater Manchester 10 1 1 3 10 6 
			 Gwent 62 55 0 1 1 1 
			 Hampshire 49 22 0 5 8 4 
			 Hertfordshire 10 0 1 1 12 3 
			 Humberside 3 1 0 2 0 5 
			 Kent 3 0 2 4 9 2 
			 Lancashire 2 0 0 4 4 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 3 0 1 4 1 
			 Lincolnshire 1 0 0 6 0 6 
			 Merseyside 8 2 4 2 2 1 
			 Metropolitan 17 4 10 45 68 47 
			 Norfolk 3 1 0 1 1 5 
			 North Wales 2 1 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 3 1 0 1 4 4 
			 Northamptonshire 1 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Northumbria 6 2 2 4 9 13 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 0 1 5 12 5 
			 South Wales 4 0 0 5 1 1 
			 South Yorkshire 42 0 0 5 4 12 
			 Staffordshire 1 0 0 2 4 2 
			 Suffolk 0 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Surrey 56 0 0 0 8 11 
			 Sussex 2 3 5 0 7 5 
			 Thames Valley 27 0 1 1 5 5 
			 Warwickshire 3 0 0 0 0 1 
			 West Mercia 3 1 0 0 2 4 
			 West Midlands 37 1 2 4 29 12 
			 West Yorkshire 1,118 209 8 5 12 27 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 13 3 6 
			 Total 1,525 321 42 136 276 241 
			 (1) April to 31 December.

Genetics: Databases

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many violent offence cases in  (a) Leeds West constituency,  (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and  (c) Yorkshire and Humberside the national DNA database was used to match suspects in each year since figures are available.

Meg Hillier: Information on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is recorded and held on the basis of the police force which took the DNA sample. It is not available by parliamentary constituency or by local government authority area.
	The table gives details of the number of violent offences in which a crime scene sample profile has matched with one or more subject profiles in each of the years since the 2002-03 financial year, for Humberside police, North Yorkshire police, South Yorkshire police and West Yorkshire police. Figures are not available for the years prior to 2002.
	'Violent offences' cover the offences murder/manslaughter, attempted murder, other suspicious death, wounding and less serious assault.
	
		
			   Humberside  North Yorkshire  South Yorkshire  West Yorkshire  Total 
			 2002-03 5 3 32 58 98 
			 2003-04 13 2 22 37 74 
			 2004-05 17 7 35 44 103 
			 2005-06 29 10 42 81 162 
			 2006-07 19 15 24 61 119 
			 2007-08 22 9 39 53 123 
			 2008-09 to date 10 3 19 28 60 
			  Note: Some of the offence codes used on the NDNAD cover more than one of the recorded crime classifications e.g. murder/manslaughter.

Genetics: Databases

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the prison population in England and Wales has a profile on the national DNA database.

Meg Hillier: The purpose of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is to match DNA profiles taken from individuals with those taken from crime scenes. It therefore holds only the information necessary for this function, and does not contain criminal records or information on whether those on it are in prison. There are, however, good reasons for believing that the great majority of the prison population has a profile on the NDNAD. Police forces have had the power to retain DNA taken from those convicted of recordable offences since the establishment of the DNA database in 1995. For the first few years this power was exercised in relation to more serious offenders, but from 2000 onwards additional funding was made available under the DNA Expansion Programme to make it standard practice to take samples from all offenders. Since the extension of powers to take DNA samples to all those arrested for recordable offences, taking a DNA sample in the custody suite has become routine procedure. In addition, two prisoner sampling projects have been undertaken, most recently in 2003, to take DNA from any prisoner who had not already been sampled, for example because they had been imprisoned before DNA sampling was widely practiced.

Genetics: Databases

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) children and  (b) adults resident in the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire had their DNA recorded on police files in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area;
	(2)  how many  (a) children and  (b) adults resident in Southampton had their DNA recorded on police files in each of the last five years.

Meg Hillier: Information held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is available on the basis of the police force which added the DNA profile, not the address of the person sampled. Information is, therefore, not available on the number of residents of Southampton and the different local authorities in non-metropolitan Hampshire who have had a DNA profile added. Information is, however, available on the number of profiles added by Hampshire constabulary in the last five years, as shown in the following table. These do not necessarily relate to residents of Hampshire.
	
		
			  Hampshire constabulary 
			   Profiles loaded taken from: 
			   Aged under 18 at time profile loaded  Aged 18 and over at time profile loaded 
			 2003-04 3,465 10,565 
			 2004-05 4,229 11,250 
			 2005-06 4,751 16,007 
			 2006-07 3,599 11,891 
			 2007-08 4,606 15,664 
			 2008-09 to date 1,668 5,699 
		
	
	The number of profiles is not the same as the number of individuals. This is because a number of subject profiles on the NDNAD are replicates, that is, a profile for a person has been loaded to the NDNAD on more than one occasion. This may arise for a number of reasons, such as a person giving a different name on different occasions they are arrested, or because of upgrading of profiles from the SGM to the SGM Plus profiling system. It is estimated that 13.3 per cent. of the subject profiles held on the entire NDNAD are replicates. However, this rate may vary between police forces, so figures for the number of individuals are not given for particular forces.

Genetics: Databases

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people had DNA samples stored on the National DNA Database at the most recent date for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many people had a DNA profile on the National DNA database in each of the last 12 months, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) ethnic origin.

Meg Hillier: As at 17 September 2008, there were 4,991,871 subject profiles retained on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) which had been added by English and Welsh police forces, which equates to an estimated 4,327,952 individuals. The number of profiles is not the same as the number of individuals. This is because a number of subject profiles on the NDNAD are replicates, that is, a profile for a person has been loaded to the NDNAD on more than one occasion. This may arise for a number of reasons, such as a person giving a different name on different occasions they are arrested, or because of upgrading of profiles.
	Table 1 shows the number of subject profiles loaded to the NDNAD by English and Welsh police forces in each of the last 12 months, broken down by gender. 'Unassigned' means that no gender was recorded by the police officer who took the sample.
	Table 2 shows the number of subject profiles loaded to the NDNAD by English and Welsh police forces in each of the last 12 months, broken down by ethnic appearance. Ethnic appearance is based on the judgment of the police officer taking the sample as to which of six broad ethnic appearance categories the person is considered to belong. 'Unknown' means that no ethnic appearance was recorded by the officer taking the sample.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   2007  2008 
			   Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep( 1) 
			 Female 11,448 11,608 11,377 8,943 11,816 9,312 10,884 11,462 10,558 9,458 11,527 12,858 5,447 
			 Male 33,749 34,241 33,623 26,776 37,005 28,911 32,733 34,117 30,785 28,324 34,193 38,117 15,777 
			 Unassigned 127 105 137 107 144 97 139 161 116 125 144 224 73 
			 Total profiles 45,324 45,954 45,137 35,826 48,965 38,320 43,756 45,740 41,459 37,907 45,864 51,199 21,297 
			 Total individuals 39,296 39,842 39,134 31,061 42,453 33,223 37,936 39,657 35,945 32,865 39,764 44,390 18,464 
			 (1) 1 to 16 September 2008 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   2007  2008 
			   Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep( 1) 
			 Unknown 2,733 2,813 2,444 1,853 2,521 1,568 1,551 1,672 1,668 1,447 1,784 2,129 1,048 
			 Asian 3,134 3,311 3,377 2,635 3,383 3,090 3,183 3,361 3,128 2,824 3,793 3,716 1,484 
			 Black 3,461 3,477 3,427 2,720 3,680 3,269 3,397 3,660 3,470 3,259 4,253 4,114 1,858 
			 Chinese, Japanese or SE Asian 482 518 492 377 526 449 523 523 512 476 577 532 282 
			 Middle Eastern 427 394 449 334 490 412 494 481 440 400 542 601 245 
			 White—North European 34,192 34,554 34,039 27,246 37,430 28,773 33,796 35,060 31,426 28,631 33,814 38,992 15,907 
			 White—South European 895 887 909 661 935 759 812 983 815 870 1,101 1,115 473 
			 Total profiles 45,324 45,954 45,137 35,826 48,965 38,320 43,756 45,740 41,459 37,907 45,864 51,199 21,297 
			 Total individuals 39,296 39,842 39,134 31,061 42,453 33,223 37,936 39,657 35,945 32,865 39,764 44,390 18,464 
			 (1) 1 to 16 September 2008

Genetics: Databases

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people of each  (a) ethnicity,  (b) age group and  (c) sex in each ward of Greater Manchester have a DNA sample stored in the national DNA database.

Meg Hillier: Information held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is available on the basis of the police force which added the DNA profile, not the address of the person sampled. Information is, therefore, not available on the number of people in each ward of Greater Manchester who have had a DNA profile added. Information is, however, available on the number of profiles added by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). These do not necessarily relate to residents of Greater Manchester. Tables 1-3 give figures for subject profiles on the NDNAD added by GMP, as at 17 September 2008, broken down by age, ethnic appearance and gender.
	The number of profiles is not the same as the number of individuals. This is because a number of subject profiles on the NDNAD are replicates, that is, a profile for a person has been loaded to the NDNAD on more than one occasion. This may arise for a number of reasons, such as a person giving a different name on different occasions they are arrested, or because of upgrading of profiles. It is estimated that 13.3 per cent. of the subject profiles held on the entire NDNAD are replicates. However, this rate may vary between police forces, so figures for the number of individuals are not given for particular forces.
	Table 1 shows the number of subject profiles loaded to the NDNAD by GMP, broken down by ethnic appearance. Ethnic appearance is based on the judgment of the police officer taking the sample as to which of six broad ethnic appearance categories the person is considered to belong. 'Unknown' means that no ethnic appearance was recorded by the officer taking the sample.
	Table 2 shows the number of such subject profiles broken down by current age, not the age when sampled.
	Table 3 shows the number of such subject profiles broken down by gender. 'Unassigned' means that no gender was recorded by the police officer who took the sample.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Ethnic Appearance  Profiles 
			 Unknown 7,473 
			 Asian 17,848 
			 Black 14,517 
			 Chinese, Japanese Or SE Asian 1,510 
			 Middle Eastern 1,870 
			 White - North European 210,850 
			 White - South European 3,257 
			 Total 257,325 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Current age  Profiles 
			 Under 10 3 
			 10-17 20,522 
			 18-24 63,242 
			 25-34 74,131 
			 35-44 55,137 
			 45-54 28,896 
			 55-64 11,154 
			 65 and over 4,225 
			 Unknown age 15 
			 Total 257,325 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3 
			  Gender  Profiles 
			 Female 56,573 
			 Male 198,628 
			 Unassigned 2,124 
			 Total 257,325

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of identity cards that will be in circulation by the end of 2015;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the percentage of the total eligible population that will have an identity card by 2016-17 under the March 2008 delivery plan; and what estimates were made under previous implementation plans.

Meg Hillier: The following table summarises the estimated volumes published in the May 2008 National Identity Cards Scheme Cost Report, combining the total volume of Identity Cards and Passports issued by IPS to British and Irish Citizens resident in the UK.
	
		
			  Estimated passport and identity card products issued to British and Irish citizens resident in the UK 
			   Product volume (million) 
			 2015-16 12.9 
			 2016-17 13.1 
			 2017-18 12.3 
		
	
	This is the most recently published information on product volumes that is currently available. Previous estimates of product volumes are included in National Identity Scheme Cost Reports that may be found at:
	http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/publications-legislative.asp
	The Identity and Passport Service is currently developing the product choice offered to customers, as indicated in the National Identity Scheme Delivery Plan published in March 2008. The figures for the projected product volumes are currently being recalculated and will be published in due course.

Police: Greater London

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents requiring police attendance were recorded in  (a) the London borough of Newham,  (b) the London borough of Hackney,  (c) the London borough of Tower Hamlets and  (d) London in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 September 2008
	The information requested is not collected centrally. This is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Approved Premises

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether he plans to establish new bail hostels in Wimbledon constituency;
	(2)  what discussions he had with the local authority before deciding to site a bail hostel in Wimbledon;
	(3)  how many bail hostels are managed by ClearSprings;
	(4)  how many bail hostels previously operated by ClearSprings have been closed;
	(5)  if he will take steps to ensure that local constituency hon. Members are consulted before decisions are taken regarding the siting of bail hostels in their constituencies.

David Hanson: No bail hostels are being established in the constituency of Wimbledon. The Bail Accommodation and Support Service provides private, rented accommodation in small houses and flats with up to five people sharing, not hostels. The Director of Offender Management for London has identified a need for one three bedroom property in Merton and ClearSprings are seeking an appropriate property. When properties are identified ClearSprings consult the police, probation and local authority before proceeding. In Merton they have consulted in relation to a property that was considered but not proceeded with and have held meetings with council officials and councillors. It is my practice to write to the relevant Member of Parliament when first a property is being readied for use in his/her constituency. At 29 September ClearSprings were providing 161 properties in England and Wales.

Departmental Air Travel

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether those staff of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies who are entitled to business class or first class air travel are permitted to (i) travel in a cheaper class to the destination and (ii) benefit in monetary terms or kind from the saving.

Maria Eagle: Those Ministry of Justice staff who are entitled to travel by air on business or first class are permitted to travel in cheaper class. Any consequent saving accrues to the Department, not them individually.
	All official travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code" respectively. Copies of these are available in the House Library.

Departmental Public Participation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the differences are between citizens' summits and citizens' juries.

Michael Wills: The discussion paper "A National Framework for Greater Citizen Engagement" published in July 2008 sets out what the Government sees as the main differences between the two mechanisms. These are:
	Size: citizens' juries are likely to involve 50-100 participants. Citizens' summits should involve large groups of around 500 or more to provide a more representative sample of public opinion;
	Result: recommendations from a summit would be put to Parliament for consideration, along with a Government statement on the proposed way forward, while recommendations from juries would require a Government response; and
	Coverage: the Government envisage that summits would be limited to national issues where there is a compelling case for large scale deliberation, while juries might be used as part of the policy development process, both national and locally.
	We are currently seeking views on these proposals.

Departmental Records

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to adopt a principle of data minimisation in the information the Government collects and holds on citizens.

Michael Wills: The processing of all personal data by private companies and public authorities must be in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).
	The data protection principles are predicated on, among other things, a requirement to ensure that data collected and processed is adequate, relevant, not excessive and not kept for longer than is necessary.
	The Government will also consider the recommendations in the Data Sharing Review published by Richard Thomas and Dr. Mark Walport, and will announce in the autumn what further measures they will take to strengthen the protection of personal data.

General Elections

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the marginal cost of holding general elections at weekends.

Michael Wills: We currently estimate that the additional cost of holding a general election on one day of the weekend could be at least an additional £38 million, rising to approximately £58 million if an election were held across both Saturday and Sunday. These figures are based on the cost of a general election, and involve a number of assumptions about how the elections would be run. We expect that the Consultation will provide additional information to allow a more accurate assessment of cost to be made.

Schools

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of any materials his Department has distributed to schools since its inception.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice, created on 9 May 2007, has placed copies the following materials in the Library. All of the items can be accessed by schools via the internet.
	 Ministry of Justice HQ
	'Right Here, Right Now'
	This is a human rights information resource for teachers within the Key Stage 3 Citizenship curriculum. Teachers are reached through the DCSF TeacherNet channel. The resource can be accessed at
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/whatwedo/humanrights.htm
	 Office for Criminal Justice Reform
	'Inside Justice Week'
	Schools were invited, via direct mail, to opt in for a free teaching pack. This is promoted through the DCSF using their communication channels and can be accessed at
	http://insidejustice.cisonline.gov.uk/schools/
	 National Offender Management Service
	'Judge for Yourself'
	These are real-life cases where actors play the parts of the offenders and invite the viewer to decide on a suitable sentence. It is being promoted by the Association for Citizenship Teaching. DCSF have collaborated by testing and approving supporting materials for citizenship. The resource can be accessed at:
	http://www.ezstream.co.uk/coi/

Stress

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements his Department has in place to assist officials to overcome the effects of stress experienced in the workplace.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ), excluding HM Prison Service, has a formal Stress at Work policy, which is supported by a dedicated toolkit and a learning guide on the MOJ intranet. The toolkit provides detailed guidance for managers and employees as to how the causes of harmful stress experienced as a result of either a work or a non-work related condition can be identified and prevented. Individuals who are experiencing stress are encouraged to complete a formal assessment with their line managers designed to identify possible remedies and constructive actions that can be taken to address the causes identified.
	Individuals and line managers can access support through their HR advisors if necessary and further specialist advice and support can be obtained via our Employee Assistance Programme and internal support services. The MOJ operates a 24-hour support help line that any member of staff can access and support is also available through corporate staff networks and via the TUS.
	The Public Sector Prison Service offers comprehensive support to staff at risk of post traumatic stress following an incident at work. In the immediate aftermath of a potentially traumatic incident, line managers conduct initial debriefing and care teams are in place in every establishment to offer peer support. If necessary, a full critical incident debrief is later conducted by specialist employee support officers, who can recommend referrals for specialist treatment, including counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy. The prison service also operates a 24-hour support helpline that any member of staff can access.
	The prison service has been working closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Kent area on a project aimed at implementing the HSE stress management standards and using this information and lessons learned to develop stress management policies and guidance for the Service. In accordance with the best practice approach advocated by HSE, stress management initiatives will be integrated into wider HR initiatives.
	We are also currently developing in-house training for general 'stress awareness' and 'stress management for line managers' for the benefit of staff.

Voting Behaviour

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) men and  (b) women voted in the 2005 General Election.

Bridget Prentice: Information is not held centrally on the number of men and women who voted in the 2005 general election. However, an independent MORI poll conducted at the time of the 2005 general election estimated that 62 per cent. of men voted compared with 61 per cent. of women.

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer question 172523, on the Operation of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, tabled on 4 December 2007 by the hon. Member for Southend West; what the reason for the time taken to reply is; what steps he has  (a) taken and  (b) plans to take to answer written parliamentary questions within a working week of them being tabled; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The question was transferred to the Solicitor-General on 6 December 2007. The Ministry of Justice's Parliamentary Branch wrote to the hon. Member on that day informing him of the transfer.

Young Offender Institutions: Ethnic Groups

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of children in young offender institutions are  (a) white,  (b) black and  (c) Asian.

Jack Straw: Young Offender Institutions accommodate sentenced prisoners aged from 15 to 21. The following table gives the breakdown by known ethnicity of all such sentenced young offenders as at 30 June 2007.
	
		
			  Ethnic group  Total sentenced young offenders aged 15 to 20  As percentage of all with known ethnicity 
			 White 6,875 75 
			 Black or Black British 1,312 14 
			 Asian or Asian British 471 5 
			 Chinese or other 64 1 
			 Mixed 500 5 
		
	
	These figures are taken from table 9.2 of the publication Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System—2006-07 at the following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-race-criminal-justice.pdf
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Young Offenders: Sentencing

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of sentence was for young offenders convicted for offences involving  (a) violence against a person,  (b) burglary,  (c) robbery,  (d) sexual offences and  (e) illegal drugs where a custodial sentence was handed down in the financial year (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08.

David Hanson: The requested information is contained in the following table.
	Data is published on a calendar year basis. 2006 is the latest year for which annual figures have been published. The 2007 data will be published by the end of the year.
	
		
			  Average length of immediate custodial sentence( 1)  for various offences by age group, all courts, 2006, England and Wales 
			  Average sentence (months) 
			   Age groups 
			  Offence groups  Juveniles (10-17 year olds  Young Adults (18-20 year olds)  10-20 year olds 
			 Violence against the person 12.8 16.3 15.2 
			 Burglary 8.6 13.9 11.7 
			 Robbery 16.9 31.5 24.4 
			 Sexual offences 29.9 36.5 33.8 
			 Drug offences 14.0 24.7 22.5 
			 (1) Months. Excludes life and indeterminate sentences.  Source:  OMS Analytical Services 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	The number of young offenders sentenced and given an IPP or a life sentence is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of persons sentenced( 1)  to an IPP or life for various offences by age group, all courts, 2006, England and Wales 
			  Number of persons 
			  Age group  Total number sentenced  Imprisonment for public protection (IPP)  Life sentence 
			 Juveniles (10 -17 year olds)
			 Violence against the person 7,559 13 29 
			 Sexual offences 500 11 12 
			 Burglary 6,169 — — 
			 Robbery 3,733 13 13 
			 Drug offences 4,460 — — 
			 Young adults (18-20 year olds)
			 Violence against the person 7,457 95 135 
			 Sexual offences 360 25 28 
			 Burglary 3,723 5 6 
			 Robbery 1,642 67 71 
			 Drug offences 5,841 — 1 
			 10-20 year olds
			 Violence against the person 15,016 108 164 
			 Sexual offences 860 36 40 
			 Burglary 9,892 5 6 
			 Robbery 5,375 80 84 
			 Drug offences 10,301 — 1 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  Source: OMS Analytical Services 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Aviation

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assumptions her Department made in calculating the price elasticity of demand for air travel in its  (a) 2007 publication UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts and  (b) 2000 publication Air Traffic Forecasts for the United Kingdom 2000.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The air price elasticities and explanation of how they are were calculated are set out in the forecasts documents.
	The 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' report is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/
	The 'Air Traffic Forecasts for the United Kingdom 2000' is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pdf/pgr/aviation/atf/airtrafficforecastsfortheuni281.

Aviation: Disabled

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government has taken to improve air travel for disabled passengers.

Jim Fitzpatrick: EC Regulation 1107/2006, which gives rights to disabled passengers when travelling by air, was implemented in the UK from 26 July 2008.
	On 23 July 2008, the Department for Transport published a revised code of practice "Access to air travel for Disabled Persons and Persons with Reduced Mobility", which provides guidance to the aviation industry on how to comply with its obligations under the regulation.
	In addition to the code of practice, the Department has also published a passenger guidance leaflet which mirrors the contents of the code and covers the rights and responsibilities of passengers.

Aviation: Oil

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projection of oil prices per barrel for  (a) 2010,  (b) 2020 and  (c) 2030 were used in the calculations contained in her Department's publication UK Air passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts; and upon what assumptions such projections were based.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The oil price projections are set out at page 88 (Table B3) of the 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' report
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pqr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/
	
		
			  Table B3: Range of real oil price assumptions, $/ barrel (2004 prices) 
			   Low  Central  High 
			 2005 55 55 55 
			 2010 25 57 70 
			 2015 25 50 75 
			 2020 25 53 80 
			 2025 25 53 80 
			 2030 25 53 80 
		
	
	The central oil assumptions are assumed to move in line with BERR's central oil projection, which falls from about $65 per barrel in 2006 to $53 per barrel in 2030.
	As part of the sensitivity testing, the oil price test varies the projection of oil within the BERR oil price projection range ($25 per barrel to $80 per barrel by 2030) at (base year) 2004 prices.
	The relevant BERR documents:
	'Meeting the Energy Challenge: A White Paper on Energy', BERR, Cm 7124, Annex B Table B5 for central assumptions.
	'Update Energy and Carbon and Emissions Projections (Energy White Paper Supporting Document)', BERR, May 2007, Annex B, URN 07/947

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on mobile telephones in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and the available data for each full year after 2002-03 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 DFT(C) n/a 94.5 102.5 119.5 205.2 261.9 
			 HA 137.0 179.0 228.0 195.0 256.0 387.0 
			 VOSA n/a 358.0 410.0 379.0 310.0 287.0 
			 DSA n/a 35.3 44.6 43.3 40.6 49.0 
			 DVLA 54.0 81.4 90.2 108.2 105.5 102.5 
			 MCA 109.8 140.2 129.5 128.1 117.0 117.5 
			 GCDA 29.9 25.2 26.8 31.5 30.0 32.7 
		
	
	The costs shown for the central Department and agencies except for MCA are in respect of all costs associated with mobile phone provision and use. MCA costs are for line rental only, other costs could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data for 2002-03 is not available from DSA because of a change to their finance system or for VOSA because this agency was only formed on 1 April 2003.

Departmental Television

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 10 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1754W, on departmental television, whether staff in her Department's Ministerial private offices have access to the Sky Sports channel.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None of the Department for Transport's ministerial private offices have access to the Sky Sports Channel.

East London Line: Finance

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to authorise the release of the funds for the phase 2 extension of the East London Line.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The East London Line extension is a TfL project. At the end of last year we agreed a generous a long term funding settlement with Transport for London (TfL). This gives TfL and London's Mayor the ability to set their own priorities and deliver a wide range of improvements to London's transport network. In this context, it is a matter for TfL and the Mayor to decide on the funding of this £100 million phase 2 extension of the East London line.

EDF Energy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport and a number of its agencies make use of the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions framework Energy: Over 100 Electricity for the supply of Electricity. Payments are made directly to EDF companies under these framework arrangements for the supply of electricity and related services. There are a small number of additional contracts for energy supply.
	The Highways Agency makes payments direct to EDF companies in relation to maintenance and management of the strategic road network in the east and south-east of England, These payments include ones to EDF as a "statutory undertaker" under the provisions of the 1991 New Roads and Street Works Act. These occur when it is necessary for EDF to move their apparatus, e.g. cables or other equipment that are in or associated with the highway, to allow the agency to carryout building or maintenance works. The 1991 Act sets out the arrangements for these payments.
	The Vehicle Operator and Services Agency has made payments to EDF companies in respect of the provision and maintenance of services.
	The Department was formed in May 2002. The following table shows the total value of recorded payments (where information is available) made to EDF since this date. Omitted information and details of the specific purpose of spend could be provided at only disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Department for Transport Spend with EDF 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Central Department for Transport 87,885.27 311,073.79 384,052.82 526,543.06 785,980.01 808,362.39 
			 DVLA n/a 533,630.84 656,608.24 759,423.95 1,203,443.93 1,010,310.51 
			 Highways Agency(1) 17,816,000.00 23,059,000.00 15,996,000.00 8,985,000.00 869,000.00 834,000.00 
			 DSA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 61,882.00 
			 VOSA(2) n/a 26,000.00 16,000.00 33,400.00 44,200.00 74,700.00 
			 MCA(3) 2,141.73 694.24 13,279.22 5,300.30 46,574.42 98,643.00 
			 VCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 GCDA(3) n/a n/a n/a n/a 61,282.67 28,542.94 
			 (1) Includes spend relating to highway building and maintenance activity. (2) Includes spend relating to provision and maintenance of pipelines. (3) For the calendar year.

EU Law

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in her Department are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or the administration of EU legislation and consequent policies.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This Government are firmly committed to the importance of the EU in delivering on 21st century challenges. The EU is of central importance to the work of HM Government across all Departments. It is relevant to a wide range of policy areas, and to the work of many Government officials.
	Four members of the Department for Transport's EU co-ordination team are mainly tasked with various aspects of the Department's work on European legislation, including preparation of transport councils, UK parliamentary scrutiny, and co-ordination of briefing for UK Members of the European Parliament.

Heathrow Airport: Noise

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when she plans to publish the 54 decibel noise exposure contour maps for  (a) easterly and westerly preference and  (b) landings on the northern and southern runways at Heathrow;
	(2)  when she plans to publish estimates of the number of people resident within the 54 decibel noise exposure contour for  (a) landings on the northern and southern runways and  (b) easterly and westerly preference at Heathrow;
	(3)  when she will publish an estimate of the number of people who would be resident within the 54 decibel noise exposure contour at Heathrow if the westerly preference were abandoned.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is standard practice in the UK to produce aircraft noise contours between 57 dBA Leq and 72 dBA Leq. Based on past research, the 57 dBA Leq noise level has been used as marking the approximate onset of community annoyance. However the November 2007 Attitudes to Noise from Aviation Sources in England (ANASE) study which had been commissioned to update Government research found that people were more annoyed by all levels of aircraft noise than they were in 1985, when the last major study in this field was carried out. However the study reported that there was no identifiable threshold at which noise became a serious problem. Accordingly we believe it is right to retain the 57 dBA level as a safeguard for those most affected by aircraft noise.
	The consultation 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport' addressed the issue of whether westerly preference operations should be retained at Heathrow. In particular, the supporting CAA report ERCD 0705 'Revised Future Aircraft Noise Exposure Estimates for Heathrow Airport' reviews, in detail, the noise impacts of changing between westerly and easterly preferences in terms of area, population and households affected.
	Modelling aircraft noise below 57 dBA Leq 16 hrs becomes increasingly uncertain as the noise level decreases, primarily because of difficulties in obtaining aircraft noise measurements that are not contaminated with other sources of noise. Aircraft noise modelling at such levels is less likely to generate accurate and reliable results. Secondly, noise levels much below 57 dBA Leq correspond to generally low disturbance to most people. It is for these reasons that noise exposure contours are not routinely produced below 57 dBA Leq and only for specific purposes at 54 dBA Leq, e.g. usually as sensitivity test in relation to an assessment of airport expansion.
	As regards to the production of separate maps for the number of people resident within the 54 dBA contour for landings on the northern and southern runways, it is considered that such maps would raise issues of interpretation for local residents between the runways who are exposed to noise from either runway. Accordingly it is not proposed to produce such maps.
	The report also considered the option of the airport abandoning the westerly preference and operating on a no preference scenario. However the ERCD 0705 report concluded that operating such an arrangement potentially raised issues about how runway direction changes would be managed (with the possibility a greater number of changes). Accordingly the assessment was not taken forward.

HM Coastguard: North West

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which HM Coastguard units, including air assets, are tasked to cover the North Lancashire and Cumbria coastline during a typical 24 hour period.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Search and rescue needs across the UK are met by a number of providers including those from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
	The response to maritime emergencies in the Lancashire and Cumbria coastal areas is .normally coordinated from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Crosby (MRCC Liverpool). This is an all hours centre. Its functions may be taken over, for resilience purposes, by MRCC Holyhead.
	The other HM Coastguard units in this area are the 12 volunteer Coastguard rescue teams who are on call 24 hours a day, providing between them search, mud and cliff rescue responses along the coast.
	There are no Coastguard helicopters in this area but helicopter coverage is provided by Ministry of Defence assets based at RAF Valley (Anglesey), RAF Boulmer (Northumberland) and RNAS Prestwick.
	Others providing services are the RNLI and other independent responders in the maritime sector. The police and fire and rescue services and others may also be called upon if an incident involves land based rescue.

HM Coastguard: Standards

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines her Department issues on response times by HM Coastguard vessels to incidents.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There is no guidance on response times specifically for HM Coastguard vessels. Instead, the MCA's Service Standards require the Agency to decide upon the appropriate search and rescue response and initiate action with five minutes of being alerted. In addition, the Department's contract with Klyne Tugs (Lowestoft) Ltd, specifies that the four emergency towing vessels (strategically located around the UK to provide support to vessels in need of assistance) are maintained at a constant 30 minutes state of readiness.

Motor Vehicles: Licensing

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many people have  (a) contested and  (b) contested successfully a late licensing penalty received from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) (i) in the county court and (ii) directly with the DVLA in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many people were issued with a late licensing penalty by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Agency began issuing Late Licensing Penalties (LLP) with the introduction of Continuous Registration (CR) in 2004. The volumes of LLP's issued each financial year since the commencement of CR are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 1,183,544 
			 2005-06 1,341,598 
			 2006-07 1,272,384 
			 2007-08 1,219,462 
		
	
	When an LLP remains unpaid, the Agency may issue a county court claim pack to the registered keeper, potentially leading to a county court judgement (CCJ). On receiving a county court claim pack, the registered keeper must make a formal response to the court if they wish to defend the claim.
	The Agency does not hold statistics to readily identify the number of County court cases which have been contested. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The number of County Court claims successfully contested by the registered keeper are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 15 
			 2005-06 167 
			 2006-07 290 
			 2007-08 158 
		
	
	The Agency do not hold statistics to readily identify the number of appeals received in cases for which an LLP has been issued. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The number of cases closed due either to dispute or mitigating circumstances are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 313,819 
			 2005-06 397,543 
			 2006-07 209,286 
			 2007-08 134,746 
		
	
	These figures do not include those cases in which other factors have prompted closure, for example the Agency was unable to trace the registered keeper.

Motorcycles: Accidents

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps the Government plans to take to reduce deaths and injuries of motorcyclists;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce deaths and injuries of motorcyclists.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In February 2005, the Department for Transport published the Government's Motorcycle Strategy, which was developed with the full involvement of motorcycling industry and user groups.
	The theme for the strategy is to facilitate motorcycling as a choice of travel within a safe and sustainable transport framework and it sets out a range of actions to improve safety, for central or local government, manufacturers, retailers, trainers and user groups.
	On 23 July 2008, we published a revised action plan which updated the actions in the 2005 strategy.
	Key achievements include:
	A new TV and radio campaign from 2006 aimed at car drivers with the message 'take longer to look for bikes';
	Think! sponsorship of the British Superbikes Championship;
	Research on fatigue, training and drivers' attitudes to motorcyclists;
	A new safety rating system for motorcycle helmets (SHARP);
	A leaflet raising awareness of the dangers of diesel spills;
	An online motorcycle users' survey on tyres, brakes and mirrors, to inform policy development;
	A voluntary register of approved post test motorcycle trainers;
	An Enhanced Rider Scheme offering insurance discounts to licensed riders who take further training with an approved instructor;
	New guidance to local authorities on Use of Bus Lanes by Motorcycles;
	Guidance to highway authorities on motorcycle-friendly infrastructure; and
	Use of motorcycle-friendly crash barriers on parts of the Highways Agency network.
	The overall motorcycle casualty rate per 100,000 vehicle kilometres is at the lowest level for many years. By 2007, the number of fatal and serious motorcycle casualties was 4 per cent. above the baseline of the 1994-98 average, but motorcycle traffic increased by 44 per cent. over this period, so the rate of fatal and serious casualties has fallen by 28 per cent.
	We will continue with our efforts to reduce these casualty figures further.

Parking: Stoke On Trent

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding is available to Stoke-on-Trent city council to expand its car-sharing and lorry parking scheme over the next five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have allocated local transport capital funding of £15.3 million to Stoke on Trent city council in the three years to 2010/11. No decisions have been taken on the level of funding in later years. It is for the local authority to determine what priority and resources should be allocated to widening its car sharing and lorry parking scheme.

Roads: Accidents

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents were reported in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of reported personal injury road accidents in each London borough between 1997 and 2007 are given the table.
	
		
			  Number of accidents 
			  London borough  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 City of London 461 448 470 417 423 381 294 314 311 355 341 
			 Barking 786 753 755 771 696 616 580 616 543 525 439 
			 Barnet 1,568 1,620 1,578 1,551 1,470 1,457 1,355 1,254 1,137 1,087 1,089 
			 Bexley 730 696 728 715 720 749 605 574 541 561 458 
			 Brent 1,350 1,313 1,338 1,337 1,236 1,199 1,139 1,007 952 789 704 
			 Bromley 1,241 1,176 1,155 1,013 1,022 1,106 887 900 857 756 676 
			 Camden 1,483 1,429 1,451 1,434 1,441 1,225 1,142 1,044 935 786 748 
			 Croydon 1,543 1,493 1,559 1,416 1,293 1,230 1,145 1,151 1,141 987 933 
			 Ealing 1,631 1,499 1,612 1,535 1,587 1,493 1,386 1,171 1,108 987 915 
			 Enfield 1,420 1,424 1,385 1,446 1,331 1,379 1,197 1,102 976 823 785 
			 Greenwich 1,078 1,035 1,063 1,070 1,111 1,044 1,005 865 798 754 745 
			 Hackney 1,179 1,171 1,231 1,211 1,242 1,037 1,005 895 899 751 794 
			 Hammersmith 943 880 955 926 898 798 792 764 730 646 677 
			 Haringey 995 1,059 985 1,251 1,138 1,016 998 854 708 722 643 
			 Harrow 718 686 700 614 645 560 548 582 504 454 387 
			 Havering 1,064 1,061 1,032 826 973 915 847 806 719 734 693 
			 Hillingdon 1,436 1,273 1,254 1,340 1,279 1,209 1,096 1,076 964 832 840 
			 Hounslow 1,341 1,236 1,104 1,222 1,195 1,103 1,020 891 829 786 743 
			 Islington 1,174 1,289 1,246 1,281 1,245 1,104 1,000 817 739 647 599 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,075 1,064 1,036 1,055 857 748 728 642 772 728 693 
			 Kingston upon Thames 662 620 541 486 464 447 432 384 373 309 311 
			 Lambeth 1,820 1,801 1,906 1,801 1,730 1,651 1,505 1,230 1,176 1,081 961 
			 Lewisham 1,362 1,318 1,339 1,262 1,252 1,209 1,167 1,032 915 862 729 
			 Merton 701 695 701 696 667 661 593 497 467 422 435 
			 Newham 1,120 1,162 1,164 1,111 1,102 956 919 786 839 860 793 
			 Redbridge 1,098 1,088 1,159 1,171 1,193 1,030 994 880 825 728 593 
			 Richmond upon Thames 739 672 629 679 674 599 611 529 471 400 402 
			 Southwark 1,555 1,600 1,620 1,515 1,535 1,446 1,415 1,105 1,018 1,070 904 
			 Sutton 712 683 663 631 653 538 547 494 510 513 449 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,033 1,150 1,202 1,140 1,170 930 899 829 839 787 831 
			 Waltham Forest 932 987 972 987 882 845 838 750 777 718 670 
			 Wandsworth 1,345 1,242 1,241 1,265 1,235 1,209 1,029 1,051 875 784 795 
			 Westminster 2,541 2,635 2,594 2,516 2,392 2,110 2,126 1,886 1,564 1,585 1,490

Roads: Safety

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who the members of the Road Safety Advisory panel are; what the output of the panel was in each of the last 12 months; and how often the panel meets.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Road Safety Advisory Panel is a group of road safety interests convened by the Department for Transport to inform Government policy at key points in policy development. Its last meeting was on 6 December 2006 to discuss the second review of the road safety strategy. At that point, its membership was:
	Highways Agency
	Living Streets
	Home Office
	Motorcycle Advisory Group
	Local Authority Road Safety Officer' Association
	Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents
	Welsh Local Government Association
	County Surveyors' Society
	CTC, the national cyclists' organisation
	Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety
	Driving Standards Agency
	The AA Motoring Trust
	Association of British Insurers
	Welsh Assembly Government
	Motor Schools Association
	Scottish Executive
	Child Accident Prevention Trust
	RAC Foundation
	RoadSafe
	Brake
	Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association
	Association of Chief Police Officers
	Highways Agency
	Health and Safety Executive
	We expect to convene a meeting of the panel shortly to discuss the new road safety strategy, for the period beyond 2010.

Roads: Surveys

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 2 July 2008,  Official Report, column 927W, on roads: surveys, if she will place in the Library copies of the ONS Omnibus Survey research on road pricing compiled in the last two years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Reports were published by the Department for Transport (DfT) on 25 October 2007 and 8 May 2008. They are on the DfT website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/trsnstatsatt/congestionroadpricing
	Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Stress

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements her Department has in place to assist officials to overcome the effects of stress experienced in the workplace.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has a stress policy in place and is proactively looking at measures to reduce all sick absence. The Department also believes in early intervention by Occupational Health in response to reported stress absences and all staff have access to counselling services.
	The Department is represented at HSE's Stress Management Network. HSE are helping Government Departments to implement the HSE management standards for work-related stress in their organisation.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the future of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina and its status beyond the end of 2008; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Government remain committed to increased ownership and responsibility for Bosnia and Herzegovina's political leaders and therefore to closure of the Office of the high representative. However, this can only happen when the time is right. In February 2008, the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board agreed to link closure of the Office of the high representative to the fulfilment of five objectives and two conditions. Key among these is the need for a stable political and security situation, based on full compliance with Dayton. The Peace Implementation Council Steering Board will meet from 20-21 November to discuss the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and progress on these objectives and conditions.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has spent the following amounts with the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations framework. There has been no recorded spend by its agencies:
	
		
			   £ 
			  Hill and Knowlton  
			 2005-06 28,782 
			 2006-07 427,483 
			 2007-08 142,248 
			   
			  Trimedia  
			 2006-07 909 
			   
			  Lexis Public Relations  
			 2005-06 24,166 
		
	
	The amounts paid to Hill and Knowlton include £5,104 paid on behalf of UK Trade and Industry.

Great Britain-China Centre

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of how the Chinese authorities view the work of the Great Britain China Centre.

Meg Munn: We believe that the Chinese government welcome the work carried out by the Great Britain-China Centre in facilitating contacts and collaboration with high-level decision-makers engaged in legal and labour reform both in the UK and in China.
	The Great Britain-China Centre has delivered many projects on the rule of law with the support of Chinese counterpart organisations and we expect this level of co-operation to continue.

Iran: Detainees

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the government of Iran urging the release of six members of the Bahá'í community arrested in that country on 14 May 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We remain very concerned about the overall treatment of Iran's Baha'i community and, in particular, the continued detention without charge of seven members of their informal leadership since May. We have consistently voiced our concern about this and urged the Iranian government to release them unconditionally. Following a UK recommendation, the EU issued a public statement on 21 May expressing serious concern at the discrimination and harassment of Baha'is in Iran and calling for the release of the Baha'i leaders. In statements to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 6 June and 16 September, the UK once again called on Iran to release the detained Baha'is. Most recently, and again with strong UK support, the EU issued a further public declaration on 26 September about the increasing pressure on people belonging to religious minorities in Iran in recent months. This declaration set out that the EU was
	'deeply disturbed'
	by the arrests of members of the Baha'i community and called for their
	'immediate and unconditional release'.
	We will continue to press Iran to fully uphold the right to freedom of religion and to end the persecution of Baha'is in Iran.

Mauritania: Peace Negotiations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to protect Britons living in and visiting Mauritania since the recent coup in that country.

Kim Howells: On 6 August I made the following statement on the situation in Mauritania:
	"The UK is following the situation in Mauritania closely and is concerned by reports of a military coup. We condemn any attempt to seize power by force and call on all parties to ensure respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law and to safeguard the well-being of their own citizens and foreign nationals in Mauritania. Britons currently in Mauritania should monitor local press reports and take sensible precautions for their safety".
	On 6 August the Foreign and Commonwealth Office amended the travel advice advising against "all but essential travel to Mauritania" and advising "British nationals to keep a low profile, exercise caution and avoid all areas where there are large gatherings of people". Travel advice was updated again on 23 September and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
	While the UK does not have permanent representation in Mauritania, our honorary consul in Nouakchott offers support and emergency assistance to British nationals in Mauritania.

Morocco: Fisheries

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the indigenous people of Western Sahara receive licensing revenues or aid derived from the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement as a result of UK trawlers' fishing activity in the waters of the occupied Western Sahara.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 September 2008
	 Morocco, as the de facto administering power in the Western Sahara, has an obligation under international law to ensure that economic activities carried out under its administration in the territory do not adversely affect the interests of the people of the Western Sahara. This includes revenues from the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement 2006. Trawlers from the UK and those from other EU member states fishing in the waters off Morocco or the Western Sahara must act in accordance with the provisions of this agreement.

Morocco: Fisheries

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government regards the waters off the coast of Western Sahara as international waters; and what the status is of UK fishing vessels fishing in those waters under the terms of the EU fisheries agreement with Morocco.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 September 2008
	 The EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement was agreed in 2006 and sets out the terms for which UK and other European fishing vessels may fish in the waters off the coast of Western Sahara. The agreement does not prejudice the issue of the status of Western Sahara, which the UK regards as undetermined pending UN efforts to find a resolution. Nor does the agreement represent recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the maritime waters of Western Sahara.

Morocco: Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether provisions relating to human rights will be included in the EU agreement with Morocco on advanced status.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 September 2008
	The UK welcomes closer co-operation between the EU and Morocco, including the proposal for an Advanced Status Agreement currently under discussion between EU member states, the European Commission and Morocco. These discussions cover a range of issues, including human rights. Human rights will also remain part of the political dialogue between the EU and Morocco and will be discussed at the Sub-Committee on human rights, governance and democracy, which is due to meet again later this year.

Morocco: Mining

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with the government of Morocco on the export of phosphate from the Bou Craa mine in Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The Government are aware of the extraction of phosphate in Western Sahara and its exportation. The UK maintains its position that Morocco, as the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under administration—including the extraction and exportation of phosphates—do not adversely affect the interests of the people in Western Sahara.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals his Department will put forward at the 2009 Preparatory Committee Meeting of the 2010 Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 17 September 2008
	The UK will work intensively with international partners before, at and after the 2009 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee to identify areas of convergence that can form the basis of a successful outcome to the 2010 NPT Review Conference. In particular we will submit proposals to strengthen the NPT in all its aspects, promoting zero tolerance of proliferation, upholding the rights of all States party to the NPT to benefit from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and reinvigorating the commitment of NPT Nuclear Weapons States to nuclear disarmament.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the effects of the recent decision by the Nuclear Suppliers Group to support a nuclear agreement between the USA and India on the operation of Article Two of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 17 September 2008
	We assess that the decision by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to allow an exemption for India to the NSG guidelines will not have any effect on the operation of article II of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Article II prohibits the transfer of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; the NSG exemption for India does not allow for such transfers.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage India to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 17 September 2008
	Universalisation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) is a long-standing UK objective. The UK regularly calls on India to accede to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. This is a message we convey both publicly and privately.

Pakistan: Christianity

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to voice concerns with the government of Pakistan on recent reports of the abduction of two Christian girls in southern Punjab on 26 June; and if he will make representations to seek their release and safety.

Kim Howells: Our High Commission in Islamabad followed the judicial process of the case of the two Christian sisters Anila and Saba closely through local human rights organisations. Following a hearing at the Lahore High Court on 9 September, Anila was returned to the custody of her parents since she is a minor. However, on the evidence of a medical board, Saba was found to be aged between and 15 and 17 and therefore considered by the court to be able to take her own decision. Saba chose to join her alleged abductors during the course of legal proceedings but we have been unable to interfere in the judicial process of this case. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and from our High Commission in Islamabad will remain in contact with human rights organisations who are considering taking this case forward through the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Since Saba chose to join her alleged abductor, we understand that she would need to challenge the findings of the medical board or testify that her decision was made under duress to establish grounds for appeal.
	Whilst this case is recognised as being unique in so far as the parents were granted custody of one child whilst the other was given the right to choose for herself, we—with our European partners—will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Pakistan over human rights issues and encourage the delivery of pledges that the Government of Pakistan has made as part of its membership of the UN Human Rights Council. These include the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child which Pakistan has ratified. Article 35 of this convention calls on States to take action to prevent the abduction of, sale of or traffic in children for any purpose.

Progressive Governance Summit

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 30 June 2008,  Official Report, column 595W, on the Heads of Government summit, for how much his Department invoiced Policy Network in respect of the Progressive Governance Conference that preceded the Heads of Government summit.

Meg Munn: No invoice was issued by the Government as it had no responsibility for the costs of the Progressive Governance Conference. This was the responsibility of Policy Network.
	A clear distinction was maintained between costs falling to the summit on 5 April and those which fell to Policy Network, who organised the Progressive Governance conference on the-preceding day.

USA: Administration of Justice

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement as to what representations the UK Mission in Washington DC has made to  (a) members of the US Congress and  (b) the US Administration on the Congressional Bill that would preclude UK citizens from pursuing civil litigation in US Federal Courts against the Government of Libya in respect of (i) the Lockerbie/Pan Am 103 bombing, (ii) Libya's involvement in IRA bombings and (iii) the bombing of La Belle disco in Berlin; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 10 September 2008
	The conclusion of a government-to-government agreement between the US and Libya on 14 August will provide for compensation for many of the victims of Libya's past sponsorship of terrorism, while ruling out the possibility of legal action against Libya before the US courts as regards allegations of Libyan involvement in terrorism before 30 June 2006. The Government regard inclusion of the British families of the victims of the bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 in the recipients of compensation as welcome news for these families, but it is regrettable that the deal will not benefit all UK nationals with cases in US courts against Libya.
	During the course of negotiations between the US and Libya, the Government made representations to the US Administration that the families of Lockerbie victims and existing UK claimants, with claims before US courts against Libya for its past sponsorship of Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist acts (the McDonald case), should be included as recipients of any compensation package. In the event, it proved not possible to include the McDonald case claimants in the recipients of compensation under the US/Libya Agreement. The Government did not make representations to the US Administration regarding the Berlin bombing as there are no UK nationals with cases in US courts against Libya regarding this attack.
	A key reason for not including the McDonald claimants in the compensation package was that international and US law do not permit the US Administration to espouse the claims of foreign nationals. Also relevant to the US decision was their assessment of how likely it would be that claims would fall within the jurisdiction of US courts and how likely it would be that they would succeed. We understand from the US that US courts would not have jurisdiction to hear such actions by British nationals against Libya.
	It was possible for the UK victims in the Lockerbie case to receive payments from the compensation fund due to the unique circumstances of that case. The Lockerbie bombing was subject to a UN Security Council resolution which required that Libya accept responsibility for the Lockerbie bomb and pay victims' families appropriate compensation. On this basis, the US assisted in bringing closure to that case on behalf of the entire international community and the Libyan Government agreed in 2003 to the payment of compensation to the victims' families. The sums to be paid to those families under the terms of the recent US/Libya agreement reflect the final (so far unpaid) tranche of the previously agreed settlement payments. There is no such mechanism, settlement or court judgment in place in relation to the legal actions regarding the supply of arms by Libya to the IRA.
	The Government have already openly responded to queries on the US/Libya deal and will continue to do so. Therefore, we consider that a statement from my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is not necessary.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the treatment of Saharawis by Moroccan police following a Saharawi demonstration in Dakla on Western Sahara's fisheries resources on 9 July; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We have received reports of confrontations between local fishermen and Moroccan fish importers in the coastal town of Dakhla in Western Sahara throughout the month of July. These events escalated on 21 July when further demonstrations led to attacks on local fishermen and their property in the fishing village of Eintirfit, 65 kilometres from Dakhla.
	The Government maintain their position that Morocco, as the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under administration, including fisheries activities, do not adversely affect the interests of the people of Western Sahara.

Afghanistan: China

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Chinese nationals fighting alongside the Taleban have been killed or taken into custody as part of UK military operations in Operation Herrick.

John Hutton: No individuals killed or detained by UK forces operating in Afghanistan have been confirmed as having Chinese nationality.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK nationals have been taken into custody following military operations as part of OP HERRICK in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: As I stated in the answer I gave on 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 66W, to the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Tyrie), the Ministry of Defence is undertaking a review of its detention records. I will write to the hon. Member when the review has completed.
	 Substantive answer from Des Browne to Mark Pritchard:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1806W, concerning UK nationals being detained in Afghanistan.
	No individuals with confirmed UK nationality have been detained by UK forces as part of Op HERRICK.

Aircraft Carriers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is intended to man both the Future Aircraft Carriers simultaneously.

Bob Ainsworth: The currently assumed operating pattern for the Future Carriers requires both ships to be available for operational tasking and therefore fully manned concurrently.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual cost of employing an  (a) Unit Welfare Officer and  (b) padre is.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 15 September 2008
	Information on the annual cost of employing every group or category of Service personnel, e.g. Unit Welfare Officers (UWOs) and chaplains is not centrally held by my Department. The bulk of these costs, however, comprise pay, employers' national insurance contributions and superannuation charges adjusted for past experiences (SCAPE), for which figures are available and are shown in the following table for UWOs and chaplains.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Average annual pay  Employers' national insurance contribution  SCAPE  Total 
			 Army Unit Welfare Officer (Late Entry Captain rank) 46,100 3,897 16,734 66,731 
			 Chaplain 53,349 4,830 19,366 77,545 
		
	
	There is no single definition of a UWO which applies across the Services. At most major Army units, the UWO will be at the rank of Late Entry Captain. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force provide welfare assistance through the Chain of Command and other mechanisms. An Army Late Entry Captain therefore provides an example of the pay cost of a UWO.
	The figure for Service chaplains quoted above reflects an average pay cost based on the tri-Service population who are paid from a tri-Service incremental pay spine.

Armed Forces: Procurement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision his Department has made for research and development expenditure on  (a) manned contact aircraft,  (b) Future Surface Combatant,  (c) next generation helicopters,  (d) Future Infantry Soldier Technology and  (e) military satellites in 2008-09.

Bob Ainsworth: MOD currently plans for expenditure during the financial year 2008-09 on research likely to be exploited in and development directly on  (a) manned fixed-wing aircraft of some £710 million;  (b) Future Surface Combatant of some £25 million;  (c) next generation helicopters of some £160 million;  (d) Future Infantry Soldier Technology of over £13 million; and  (e) military satellites of over £2 million.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many members of  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force were recruited from (i) Cumbria and (ii) Copeland in the last five years;
	(2)  how many members of HM Armed Forces recruited from  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland are expected to complete their military service in financial year 2008-09; and how many of them will be eligible to receive recently-announced further education support;
	(3)  how many members of HM Armed Forces who were recruited from  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland who will complete military service in 2008-09 and will be under 60 years of age will qualify for concessionary bus travel.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1807W.

BAE Mantis

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the in-service date for the Mantis unmanned aerial vehicle.

Bob Ainsworth: Departmental arrangements with BAE Systems concerning the Mantis UAV project are currently limited to involvement in the early stages of a technology demonstrator programme. No commitments have been made by the Department beyond the current stage of the programme.

Bye-Law Review Team

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the terms of reference are of the Army's Bye-Law Review Team.

Kevan Jones: The terms of reference for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Byelaws Review Team are to review all of the MOD by-laws and bring them up to date.
	More detailed information on the terms of reference as well as other useful background information can be found online at:
	http://www.defence-estates.mod.uk/byelaws/Internet/Intro.php

Defence Estates

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans are in place for the re-investment of capital generated by the sale of land identified as disposable in the Defence Estates Development Plan.

Kevan Jones: The capital generated from the planned sale of MOD land is reinvested in Defence in accordance with Treasury guidelines, and in line with our priority of support to our people, including improved accommodation.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of materials his Department has distributed to schools in the last three years.

Kevan Jones: I have provided copies of all the material released by central MOD schemes, Single Service teams and the MOD Schools team to the Library of the House.
	A number of MOD resources, notably Defence Dynamics, are on-line resources that are designed for web usage and are constantly refreshed. It is not possible or practical to provide print outs or electronic downloads because of the size. Additionally, the web will always provide the most up to date version.
	In order to access the Defence Dynamics website:
	www.defencedynamics.mod.uk
	a generic account has been set up for House of Commons Library users. Access details are:
	Username: hofclibrary
	Password: hofclibrary
	The site can be accessed at
	http://target.raf.mod.uk/Default.aspx
	by using the following log-in details:
	Username: hofclibrary
	Password: hofclibrary
	It is not possible to track every item that may have been given out at local establishment level.

EDF

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment.

Bob Ainsworth: Information on contracts the Department and its agencies have with EDF is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	I am able to provide figures on MOD payments to companies and entities forming part of EDF Energy plc as it was structured at 31 March 2008. Data are provided from 2001-02 onwards. Before this there was no record of any MOD payments to EDF Energy plc or companies and entities that currently belong to it.
	The payments made are detailed in the following table. The data exclude payments made by the MOD trading funds, for which records are not held centrally. The purpose of these payments was for the provision of utilities (e.g. electricity) for the MOD.
	
		
			  Annual MOD payments to EDF Energy (VAT exclusive at current prices) 
			  FY  £000 
			 2001-02 70 
			 2002-03 140 
			 2003-04 190 
			 2004-05 260 
			 2005-06 340 
			 2006-07 420 
			 2007-08 230

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 304W, on Iraq: peace keeping operations, what recent reports he has received on the  (a) detention and  (b) status of Abdul Razzaq Ali al-Jedda; what representations he has received on the case; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Mr. Al-Jedda was released from UK custody in December 2007.
	Prior to his release Mr. Al-Jedda was held as a security internee by UK forces in Iraq because it was assessed that he posed a threat to the lives of Multi- National Forces personnel, Iraqi security personnel and Iraqi civilians. In December 2007, on the basis of the latest intelligence and security assessment, it was decided that it was no longer necessary to intern Mr. Al-Jedda and he was released to a safe location in Iraq.
	Mr. Al-Jedda's internment was pursuant to UNSCR 1546 and subsequent resolutions, and was found to be lawful by the House of Lords.

Day Care: Pay

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimates he has made of the number and proportion of child day-care establishments that pay at least one member of staff below the national minimum wage.

Patrick McFadden: Data on payments made by individual companies is not available. It would, in any case, be disclosive.
	Data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings datasets from the ONS suggests that there were in total around 6,000 employees paid below the national minimum wage in the standard industrial classification sector 'Social Work Activities Without Accommodation(1)', this sector includes child day-care activities but it also includes elements of social work beyond the child care sector—see footnote.
	However, this does not necessarily indicate non-compliance on behalf of the employer as certain groups of people are exempt from NMW regulations including, for example, those on Government training schemes and apprentices under the age of 19.
	(1) SIC code 85.32—Social work activities without accommodation includes:
	Child day-care activities, including day-care activities for handicapped children;
	Day-care activities for disabled adults;
	Day facilities for homeless and other socially weak groups;
	Social, counselling, welfare, refugee, referral and similar activities;
	Charitable activities such as fund raising or other supporting activities aimed at social work.

Departmental Buildings

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the location is of each office occupied by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies which has been (i) newly occupied and (ii) refurbished in the last 24 months; and what the floor area in square metres is of each.

Gareth Thomas: The Department has not occupied any new space nor undertaken any major refurbishments during the last 24 months.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies House and they will respond to you directly.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 6 October 2008:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	In the last 24 months Companies House has decorated and replaced the carpet in the London office, a floor area of 275 square metres. Out of a total area of 28,800 square metres in the Cardiff office, an area of 1051 square metres has been refurbished.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 6 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2007/3623) asking what the location is of each office occupied by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies which has been (i) newly occupied and (ii) refurbished in the last 24 months; and what the floor area in square metres is of each.
	For the Insolvency Service the information is:
	Newly occupied and fitted out demises:
	Birmingham (Cannon House)—3990 m(2)
	Croydon (Sunley House)—1498 m(2)
	Gloucester (Southgate House)—978 m(2)
	Reading (Apex Plaza)—792 m(2)
	Southampton (Town Quay)—700 m(2).
	None of our demises were refurbished in the period.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the average pay per hour worked by  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary staff in his Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band.

Gareth Thomas: The available information for average hourly rates of pay for permanent staff in BERR in 2008 is shown in the following table.
	The pay data for temporary staff is not available as their pay is determined by the agencies that employ them.
	
		
			  Ranges( 1)  London Hourly Rates (£)( 2)  National Hourly Rates (£) 
			 2 8 6 
			 3 9 8 
			 4 10 8 
			 5 11 9 
			 6 12 10 
			 7 14 12 
			 8 14 14 
			 9 17 19 
			 10 22 22 
			 11 27 26 
			 Fast Stream 14 15 
			 SCS PB1 36 n/a 
			 SCS PB2 46 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available (1) The BERR pay system below SCS has 10 pay ranges. (2) The hourly rate calculations were based on average annual salary and gross hours of 41 hours per week for those working in London and 42 hours for those working outside London.  Notes: 1. There are very few SCS posts in BERR located outside London and it is therefore not possible to provide such average figures for outside London. 2. Annual Salaries for staff in SCSPB3 and the Permanent Secretary are published in the Departmental Annual Report.

Departmental Public Participation

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what public consultation exercises were undertaken by his Department in each of the last five years; and what the cost of each was.

Gareth Thomas: Data on the number of written consultations undertaken by the Department is published in the annual report and accounts available on the Department's website. The number of written consultations undertaken in each of the last three years was:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005-06 71 
			 2006-07 47 
			 2007-08 45 
		
	
	All the Department's consultations are listed in the consultations index of its website at
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/consultations/index.html.
	We estimate that the total production costs of the written consultations carried out by the Department in the last three calendar years were as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005 67,000 
			 2006 71,000 
			 2007 51,000 
		
	
	Data for earlier years and for individual consultations could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.

Gareth Thomas: In the last three full financial years the Department spent the following on external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework:
	
		
			   Amount spent (£) 
			  2007-08( 1)  
			 Geronimo Communications 172,630.27 
			 GCI 30,030 
			 Total 202,660.27 
			   
			  2006-07( 2)  
			 Fishburn Hedges 9,071 
			 GCI 179,113 
			 Geronimo Communications 163,642 
			 Total 351,826 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 GCI 105,786 
			 Geronimo Communications 76,240 
			 Harrison Cowley 239,050 
			 Wright Communication 32,694 
			 Total 453,770 
			 (1 )April to June 2007 as DTI and BERR from June 2007. (2 )Spend by the former DTI.  Note: These costs are inclusive of COFs fees. 
		
	
	BERR's agencies will reply separately.
	External public relations and marketing companies are only used where the internal specialism is not available. They are used for raising public awareness on specific issues, such as for the Department's 'Employing People' campaign.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 6 October 2008:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Companies House did not spend any money on any of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in the last 36 months.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 6 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2007/3617) asking how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's (COI) Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.
	The Insolvency Service spent approximately £14,500 in 2007-08 on external public relations to provide cover for the press officer during a period of absence. No other monies were spent on public relations and marketing companies included in COI's public relations framework in either 2005-06 or 2006-07.

EDF Energy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment.

Gareth Thomas: EDF provides the energy for the BERR estate through a call off contract via an Office of Government Commerce framework.
	Spend over the past five financial years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 530,550 
			 2004-05 520,011 
			 2005-06 856,367 
			 2006-07 1,240,938 
			 2007-08 1,495,498 
		
	
	I am unable to provide the figures for the previous five years as disproportionate costs would be incurred.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies House and they will respond to you directly.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 6 October 2008:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Companies House has two contracts with EDF for the supply of electricity to the Cardiff and Nantgarw offices.
	Our records are only available from 2004 and the amounts paid, inclusive of VAT, are as follows:
	
		
			£ 
			 2004-05 — 0 
			
			 2005-06 — 0 
			
			 2006-07 — 0 
			 2007-08 Total 211,624 
			  Cardiff 157,832 
			  Nantgarw 53,792 
			
			 2008 to date Total 100,685 
			  Cardiff 75,910 
			  Nantgarw 24,775 
		
	
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 6 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2007/3630) asking what contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) his agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment.
	The Insolvency Service started making payments to EDF, for electricity payments only from 2005. The table below shows the breakdown of the payments.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005 381,600 
			 2006 381,600 
			 2007 381,600 
			 2008 to July 222,600

Family Businesses

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to reduce the regulatory burdens on family businesses.

Patrick McFadden: The Government's plan to reduce regulatory burdens apply to all businesses including family businesses. Administrative burdens arising as a result of regulation can disproportionately impact on smaller firms.
	Family run businesses tend to be small (10-49 employees) micro (1-9 employees) or have no employees. "The larger a business is the less likely it is to be family owned"(1)
	On 12 March 2008, the Government published a new Enterprise Strategy. In the 2008 Enterprise Strategy, the Government committed to a new approach to the way that new and existing regulation applies to firms that employ fewer than 20 people; this includes considering whether small firms can be exempt from requirements without affecting essential protections—or if there is scope for simplified inspection, enforcement and guidance. A risk based approach to regulation will help minimise costs for small businesses.
	Within the Enterprise Strategy, Government also announced that it would consult on the introduction of a system of regulatory budgets. At present there are limited controls on new regulatory proposals and there is no overall method for the Government to directly manage regulatory costs. A regulatory budget would provide such a mechanism. The Government is currently carrying out its consultation on this proposal.
	In June 2008 The Small Firms Impact Test (SFIT) became a mandatory part of the Impact Assessment (IA) process when a Government proposal imposes or reduces costs on business. The Government's manifesto commitment in 2001 ensured the 'Think Small First' principle was followed as part of UK policy development. The SFIT is intended to establish impact on small businesses and how it is possible to minimise the impact of the requirements on small firms through flexibilities such as exemptions, simplified inspection, less frequent reporting for businesses with fewer than 20 employees.
	More generally, Government undertook an exercise, supported by industry, to measure the administrative burdens that impact businesses of all sizes as a result of complying with regulations. Upon the completion of this exercise, 25 per cent. net targets by 2010 were set to reduce this burden.
	In December 2007, 19 Simplification Plans were published, showing more than 700 measures to reduce the burdens of complying with regulations. Over 280 of these measures have already been delivered saving businesses £800 million per year.
	Examples include:
	Simpler law for smaller businesses (BERR): Smaller businesses stand to benefit from substantial rewrite of Company Law. Coupled with better guidance, new provisions are expected to lower third party costs and make compliance easier. Conservative estimate of £2 million annual savings delivered.
	Changes to Small Business Rate Relief (Communities): Small firms eligible for Small Business Rate Relief no longer have to register for relief annually. £3 million annual savings delivered, and expected to rise to £11 million by 2010.
	Small Firms audit requirements (Financial Services Authority): Removed the need for 3,400 small firms to have a statutory audit, saving £12.9 million per year
	Copies of these plans are available online at:
	http://www.berr.gov./uk/bre/policy/simplifying-existing-regulation/simplification-plans/2007/page44068.html
	 2007 Simplification Plans
	The following 19 departments, regulators and agencies have produced Simplification Plans with a 25 per cent. or above reduction target.
	Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
	Cabinet Office
	Charity Commission
	Department for Children, Schools and Families (PDF)
	Department for Communities and Local Government
	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	Department for Environment
	Department of Health
	Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (PDF)
	Department for Transport (PDF)
	Department for Work and Pensions
	Food Standards Agency (PDF)
	Forestry Commission (PDF)
	Government Equality Office (Word Document.)
	Health and Safety Executive
	HM Treasury (PDF)
	Home Office
	Ministry of Justice
	Office for National Statistics
	In addition, two plans have been published without a target.
	Financial Services Authority (PDF)
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office (PDF)
	(1) Small Businesses in Rural Areas: An analysis of the Annual Small Business Survey 2004. Business Service Analytical Unit 2006 http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file38269.pdf

Industrial Disputes

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many working days were lost as a result of strikes in  (a) each parliamentary constituency in Cornwall,  (b) the South West region and  (c) England in each year since 1979.

Patrick McFadden: Data on days lost to industrial action are collected by the Office for National Statistics only at Government office region level. Therefore information on days lost relating to parliamentary constituencies is outside of the scope of data collected.
	The available data for days lost to industrial action in the Government office region of South West England and for England as a whole for each year since 1979 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   South West  England  UK total  UK strikes which could not be disaggregated to GOR level( 1) 
			 1979 2,423,000 23,803,000 29,474,000 — 
			 1980 117,000 7,548,000 11,964,000 — 
			 1981 171,000 3,305,000 4,266,000 — 
			 1982 170,000 4,300,000 5,313,000 — 
			 1983 88,000 3,013,000 3,754,000 — 
			 1984 87,000 21,224,000 27,135,000 — 
			 1985 87,000 4,741,000 6,402,000 — 
			 1986 62,000 1,501,000 1,920,000 — 
			 1987 204,000 2,802,000 3,546,000 — 
			 1988 121,000 3,328,000 3,702,000 — 
			 1989 181,000 3,244,000 4,128,000 — 
			 1990 22,000 1,676,000 1,903,000 3,000 
			 1991 11,000 604,000 761,000 — 
			 1992 3,000 406,000 528,000 49,000 
			 1993 5,000 193,000 649,000 309,000 
			 1994 20,000 190,000 278,000 54,000 
			 1995 10,000 301,000 415,000 23,000 
			 1996 95,000 1,079,000 1,303,000 25,000 
			 1997 900 148,100 235,000 17,800 
			 1998 1,700 126,700 282,400 101,100 
			 1999 3,400 119,400 241,800 67,400 
			 2000 2,100 173,300 498,800 3,300 
			 2001 17,100 381,900 525,100 48,000 
			 2002 67,700 1,098,400 1,323,300 200 
			 2003 14,600 324,100 499,100 9,100 
			 2004 28,700 443,100 904,900 1,300 
			 2005 2,800 123,400 157,400 4,500 
			 2006 18,000 397,600 754,500 156,000 
			 2007 59,400 768,400 1,041,100 96,900 
			 (1) The figures are not included in either of the first two columns.  Notes: 1. Between 1979 and 1996 figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.  2. From 1997 onwards, figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

South East

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department spent on services in  (a) Dartford Borough,  (b) Kent Thameside,  (c) the Thames Gateway,  (d) Kent County Council area and  (e) the South East region in each of the last five years, broken down by type of service.

Patrick McFadden: Information on the Department's spending by Region and service is published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08 Annex 8 which is lodged in the House. Expenditure is broken down by country and region for years 2002-03 to 2007-08 (Table 7), by Head of Population for years 2002-03 to 2007-08 (Table 8), and by identifiable expenditure on services by function, country and region for 2006-07.
	Payments made to Kent County Council during the last five years were as follows:
	Financial year 2004-05, £52,940.76 re-imbursement of salary costs, £2,519.38 conference room rental.
	Financial year 2007-08, £1,100,190.98 waste electrical and electronic equipment grant.
	No payments are recorded on the Department's system to either Dartford BC, Kent Thameside, or the Thames Gateway.
	Any further breakdown would be at disproportionate cost.
	BERR's spending in the South East includes funding to South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).
	The following table shows SEED A's expenditure for Kent as a whole and also, separately, cross-regional funding. This is all spending and not just on 'services'. It is not possible to show how much of this expenditure came from the BERR grant-in-aid.
	To break down expenditure by each area requested would involve disproportionate effort.
	Please note that EEDA and LDA also provide funding to the Thames Gateway.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Kent( 1)  Cross-regional expenditure( 1,) ( 2)  South East region (This figure is SEEDA's total expenditure( 3)  BERR grant-in-aid to SEEDA 
			 2007-08 37,261,515 10,584,077 193,933,000(4) 165,000,000 
			 2006-07 47,965,454 7,870,431 195,409,000 159,000,000 
			 2005-06 59,801,985 11,519,207 181,500,000 158,200,000 
			 2004-05 73,301,494 10,084,140 164,070,000 104,500,000 
			 2003-04 25,278,974 1,299,593 125,011,000 120,944,000 
			 (1) These figures for forecast expenditure have been taken from SEEDA's PMS system and are not audited and should be viewed as indicative only. (2). Cross Regional expenditure is expenditure by SEEDA that covers more than one county. This expenditure could include expenditure in Kent. (3) The figure provided is SEEDA's annual total expenditure as laid down in SEEDA's Annual Report and Accounts. (4) Please note that the figure for 2007-08 has been signed off by SEEDA's Finance department but they are awaiting final approval of the Annual Report and Accounts by the National Audit Office.

UK Trade and Investment: Manpower

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform who is on the UK Trade and Investment Defence Sector Advisory Group.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 1 July 2008
	UK Trade and Investment has set up a Defence Advisory Group (DAG) to advise on strategy and objectives for the defence sector. The DAG comprises 15 members, who are expected to serve for two years and who have been selected on the basis of the expertise that they personally bring to speak with authority and experience of defence exports. At the first meeting Sir Kevin Tebbit, Chairman of Finmeccanica UK, acted as Chairman of the Group. Information on individual members of the Group is considered to be personal information and is withheld for that reason.

Departmental Air Travel

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that her Department and its predecessors have participated in the fund, broken down by  (a) domestic,  (b) short haul and  (c) long haul flights.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government offsets its air travel through the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund. In 2006-07, Departments were only required to report on air travel broken down by short haul and long haul. In that year, the Department spent £2,730 to offset 275 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from its ministerial and official air travel in 2006-07.(1) This comprised 129,479 kilometres of short haul flights and 882,225 kilometres of long haul flights.
	2006-07 was the first year that the Department offset any of its emissions.
	Data from 2007-08 has been provided to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who will subsequently request payment for the Department's offsets, but figures and payment details are not yet finalised.
	(1) These figures do not include data from the Department's Executive agencies or the regional Government offices.

Departmental Surveillance

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications  (a) her Department and its predecessor and  (b) its agencies have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (i) undertake directed surveillance, (ii) use covert human intelligence sources, (iii) acquire communications data and (iv) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months.

Sadiq Khan: The Department of Communities and Local Government was created in May 2006. There have been no applications made by  (a) the Department for Communities and Local Government or  (b) any of its Agencies under the Regulatory of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (i) undertake directed surveillance, (ii) use covert human intelligence sources, (iii) acquire communications data and (iv) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months.
	This answer does not include the Government Offices who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

First Time Buyers: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the number of first-time buyers who purchased a home in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland in the last five years.

Iain Wright: Data on UK total number of first time buyers (FTBs) using a mortgage is available from the Regulated Mortgage Survey which is supplied to Communities and Local Government by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. However, as the survey is a sample, data on the number of FTBs is unavailable for Cumbria and Copeland specifically.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will use her powers under section 162 of the Housing Act 2004 to suspend the requirement to product a home information pack to market a property.

Iain Wright: We have no plans to suspend Home Information Packs.

Homelessness: Castle Point

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many private sector homes for homeless people were used in each of the last five years by Castle Point Borough Council  (a) within the borough and  (b) outside the borough;
	(2)  how many registered homeless people originating from outside Castle Point are housed within the borough.

Iain Wright: Information about English local authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level.
	Information collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
	Data are collected on the number of households being housed in temporary accommodation as at the end of each quarter. The figures include: those households who have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which inquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
	The total number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by a local authority includes households housed both within and outside their own borough. The table shows data reported by Castle Point, for 2003-04 to 2007-08 (as at the last day of March each year).
	
		
			  Table 1: Households in temporary accommodation arranged by Castle Point (as at end March)—within borough and outside borough 
			   Total temporary accommodation arranged by Castle Point  of which within borough  of which outside borough 
			 2003-04 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 2004-05 183 (1)— (1)— 
			 2005-06 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 2006-07 154 (1)— (1)— 
			 2007-08 119 114 5 
			 (1 )Data not reported  Source:  Quarterly P1E return 
		
	
	Authorities report on the types of accommodation used as temporary accommodation, some of which fall in (or mainly in) the private sector:
	Bed and breakfast hotels
	Other nightly paid, privately managed accommodation—both shared facilities and self-contained
	Private sector accommodation leased by authority
	Private sector accommodation leased or managed by RSLs
	Directly with a private sector landlord
	Any other type of accommodation (most of which is likely to be private sector)
	Data reported by Castle Point is provided for 2003-04 to 2007-08, and shows the number of households in these mainly private sector forms of temporary accommodation as at the end of March each year. However, data on the number of households accommodated within and outside the borough, in private sector accommodation, is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Table 2: Households in temporary accommodation arranged by Castle Point (as at end March)—private sector and total 
			   Private sector accommodation  Total temporary accommodation 
			 2003-04 (1)— (1)— 
			 2004-05 142 183 
			 2005-06 (1)— (1)— 
			 2006-07 126 154 
			 2007-08 115 119 
			 (1 )Data not reported.  Source:  Quarterly PIE return 
		
	
	The number of households in temporary accommodation originating from outside the local authority in which they are housed is not collected centrally.

Homelessness: Young People

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many 16 and 17 year-olds  (a) applied for and  (b) received homelessness assistance in each housing authority in England in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level.
	Information collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available).
	Data on total decisions taken under Part 7 by age band is not collected centrally.
	Local authorities provide advice and assistance to some applicants not owed a main homelessness duty, but data on such assistance is not collected centrally by age band. However information on those applicants accepted as owed a main homelessness duty is collected by priority need category, one of which is applicants in priority need because they are 16 or 17 years old.
	A table has been placed in the Library showing the number of applicants accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, with priority need primarily through being 16 or 17 years old. However it is important to note that some 16 and 17 year old applicants may have been accepted in alternative primary priority need categories, for example through having dependant children or being a pregnant woman, and so will not show up in these figures. Some authorities collect and report secondary priority need categories of applicants (when they fall into more than one priority need group), and these figures are also presented. Data is provided for each local authority, between 2003-04 and 2007-08.

Housing: Advisory Services

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent to support advice services for homeowners in each of the last three years; and how much  (a) has been spent in 2008-09 and  (b) is expected to be spent in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: CLG will be providing over £200 million to local authorities and the voluntary sector over the next 3 years, including the current year, to tackle and prevent homelessness effectively. This is the biggest cash injection for homelessness services. All local authorities receive a homelessness grant allocation and nearly all will use some of this allocation to fund advice services enabling them to prevent homelessness, including assisting home owners. Funding from CLG is unring fenced; it is therefore at the discretion of each local authority to determine how best to use the funding to serve its community.
	Within this £200 million, CLG provide direct funding to the National Homeless Advisory Service (currently £2.5 million PA) for the very specialist homeless prevention work carried out by Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Shelter. NHAS have recently produced a leaflet advising homeowners on preventing repossession. This is being distributed by Courts, Councils CAB and other advice agencies
	All local authorities fund their local CAB networks separately. This is through local service level agreements.
	We also announced on the 2 September that we will be providing a £200 million mortgage rescue scheme, which will help 6,000 of the most vulnerable households facing repossession over the next two years.

Housing: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home repossessions there were in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland in the last five years.

Iain Wright: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Financial Services Authority. However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders data is available on their website at
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/filegrab/3AP4.xls?ref=2753
	The Financial Services Authority data is available on their website at
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Returns/IRR/statistics/

Housing: Greater London

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the average house price in London in  (a) April 2006,  (b) April 2007 and  (c) the most recent period for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government calculate regional monthly mix-adjusted average purchase prices of domestic dwellings based on data from the Regulated Mortgage Survey. This is available back to February 2002 on our website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table592.xls.
	For London this gives mix-adjusted average house prices as:
	
		
			   Average house prices (£) 
			  (a) April 2006 277,235 
			  (b) April 2007 318,976 
			  (c) July 2008 343,182

Ministerial Corrections

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 20 June 2008,  Official Report, column 63WS, on a correction to a parliamentary Question, in what circumstances her Department opts to correct an answer given to a parliamentary Question by means of  (a) a Written Ministerial Statement and  (b) a Ministerial Correction.

Sadiq Khan: Corrections to answers given to parliamentary questions are made in accordance with the guidance issued to Departments by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 18 October 2007,  Official Report, column 56WS.
	The written ministerial statement was issued on 20 June 2008 in respect of question 165558 given the length of time that had elapsed since the question was first answered (18 December 2007).

Mortgages: Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of families which are more than three months in arrears with mortgage payments in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland.

Iain Wright: Information on mortgages which are more than three months in arrears with payments is only available for the United Kingdom as a whole and is collected independently by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This data is available on their website at
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/filegrab/2AP1.xls?ref=2750.

Non-governmental Organisations

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) the Minister of State for Local Government and  (b) the Minister of State for Housing has had with (i) non-governmental environmental organisations and (ii) non-governmental business organisations since her appointment.

Iain Wright: Details of meetings between Ministers and outside interest groups are provided on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/about/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/

Regional Planning and Development: Electronic Government

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 329W, on regional planning and development: electronic government, what public funding each regional assembly provided to its respective regional equality and diversity partnership.

John Healey: Regional assemblies receive government grant as a contribution towards the implementation of the regions proposals which are described in a business plan. The Government produce business planning guidance which sets out the framework within which business plans can be agreed.
	The annual reports of each assembly, including financial information and accounts, are published and can be accessed through the English Regions Network website.
	http://www.ern.gov.uk/
	The specific data requested is not routinely collected centrally.

Valuation Office

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 12 October 2006,  Official Report, column 887W, on the Valuation Office Agency, and the Answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 226-27W, on housing: valuation, whether the ACORN data was used in whole or in part by the Valuation Office Agency to assist with the division of the country into the 10,000 localities.

Jane Kennedy: ACORN data was found to be of limited practical value to this task and was not a key determinant of the extent of localities.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated research on the impact of alcohol consumption on public health on Merseyside, with particular reference to its effect on child well-being; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The public health consequences from alcohol consumption are well known. On 22 July 2008, the Department published the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) report, Alcohol-attributable fractions for EnglandAlcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions, which summarised the current information on the health risks from alcohol consumption. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.
	Although the Department's research is currently focused on improving prevention and treatment services, we continue to keep under review the emergence of any major new evidence on the risks and benefits relating to alcohol consumption, to ensure that guidance remains up-to-date.
	Local Alcohol Profiles England, run by the NWPHO, provide data for local authorities and primary care trusts (PCT) on the local impact of alcohol use, which allows local alcohol strategies to be tailored to the needs for specific areas.
	During 1 July 2008 and 2 September 2008 'Safe Space', a programme to make public spaces safe and to reduce anti-social behaviour, was run in Merseyside. As part of this programme Liverpool PCT and Working Neighbourhood Fund ran 'Safe Space Plus', an initiative that specially addressed alcohol related anti-social behaviour and engaged with young people to encourage safe and sensible drinking. Additional objectives for 'Safe Space Plus' included enabling access to brief interventions or treatment to reduce alcohol consumption, where appropriate, and raising awareness of the risks associated with alcohol consumption.
	The NWPHO are evaluating 'Safe Space Plus' and will be outlining the impact of 'Safe Space Plus' on young people and the wider community in a report expected to be published in early 2009.

Arthritis: Drugs

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are expected to receive a second anti-TNF treatment used sequentially after the failure of a first anti-TNF treatment in the next two years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will estimate the number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who will not be provided with sequential treatments with anti-TNF drugs over the next five years as a result of the ruling by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the issue;
	(3)  what records he holds for benchmarking purposes on the use of anti-TNF treatments in other EU countries; what assessment he has made of how that pattern of use differs from  (a) that of its use in England and  (b) the differential results of that use in the UK and other member states; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: We have made no estimate of the proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are expected to receive a second anti-TNF treatment.
	We have made no estimate of the number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are expected not be provided with sequential treatments with anti-TNF drugs over the next five years. The Department holds no records on the use of anti-TNF treatments in other EU) countries.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice on what occasions the Chelsea and Westminister Hospital Foundation Trust has been given on the implementation of the policy of allowing patients to use the choose and book appointments system by  (a) Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts and  (b) the Healthcare Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We are informed by the Chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) that no advice has been given to the Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust on the implementation of Choose and Book, except to specify the basis on which NHS foundation trusts (NHSFT) should report compliance, and to draw attention to the definition of the Choose and Book target.
	We are also informed that the Healthcare Commission has given no advice to the Chelsea and Westminster NHSFT in relation to the implementation of the policy of allowing patients to use the Book and Choose system.
	Choose and Book is a national service that combines electronic booking and a choice of time, date and place for first consultant led out-patient appointments. Advice has been continually given by the Department and NHS Connecting for Health to primary care trusts and providers of NHS care on the implementation of Choose and Book. The NHS Operating Framework for 2006-07 set a target that 90 per cent., of general practitioner referrals to first consultant-led outpatient services should be made through the Choose and Book system to a directly bookable service by March 2007. This was reconfirmed in the Operating Framework for 2007-08 and also mentioned in the Information Management and Technology guidance with the aim of moving towards a position where Choose and Book is used as the standard safe and secure method for all referrals.

CJD

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) deaths from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and  (b) new diagnoses of vCJD there have been since the period covered by the press release placed on his Department's website on vCJD statistics in October 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: There has been one new vGJD diagnosis and three deaths since the final monthly press release dated 2 October 2007.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many faecal occult blood test kits were issued in each month since the start of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme, broken down by  (a) screening hub and  (b) sex.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows, as at 14 July 2008, the number of faecal occult blood testing kits issued each month since the start of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme, broken down by screening hub and sex.
	
		
			   London  Southern  Eastern  North East  Midlands and North West 
			   M  F  I  M  F  I  M  F  I  M  F  I  M  F  I 
			  2006
			 July 399 386  
			 August   1,263 1,230 855 879  
			 September54 51  1,988 1,888 822 816  
			 October 329 313  1,333 1,323  2,086 2,073 2,431 2,453  
			 November 1,535 1,473  1,640 1,626  1,744 1,684 3,415 3,351  
			 December 1,545 1,523  1,278 1,286  1,184 1,209 2,667 2,642  
			  2007
			 January 2,840 2,914  1,039 1,040  1,627 1,472 2,880 3,025  
			 February 2,871 2,960  2,425 2,369  2,029 1,881  930 921  4,637 4,463  
			 March 4,078 3,939  2,300 2,207  2,394 2,284  7,329 7,352  4,369 4,248  
			 April 4,337 4,141  3,395 3,370  2,766 2,659  6,384 6,537  5,567 5,505  
			 May 5,085 5,043  5,588 5,705  3,209 3,248  7,707 7,550  8,677 8,681  
			 June 5,525 5,521  4,843 4,777  2,860 2,793  7,108 7,043  8,000 8,069  
			 July 6,187 5,992  5,051 4,987  5,594 5,487  3,709 3,616  10,610 10,463  
			 August 6,855 7,001  4,464 4,355  6,797 6,646  3,256 3,254  10,753 10,543  
			 September 6,481 6.134  4,254 4,422  5,260 5,174  5,628 5,726  11,660 12,094  
			 October 9,528 9,494  5,203 5,246  6,452 6,566  8,371 8,428  11,849 12,003  
			 November 10,555 10,629  5,129 5,043  6,795 6,770  9,868 9,874  11,546 11,274  
			 December 11,654 11,599 1 8,372 8,168  4,859 4,779  7,619 7,648  14,974 14,561  
			  2008
			 January 14,721 14,960 1 6,096 6,137  9,526 9,414  10,182 10,192  13,194 13,286  
			 February 12,355 12,332  5,516 5,485  11,655 11,579  12,734 12,620  12,158 12,094  
			 March 12,940 12,833  8,894 8,898  16,564 16,481  14,481 14,573  15,108 15,136  
			 April 14,736 14,656  14,330 14,399  16,789 16,684 1 15,048 14,928  23,055 22,902  
			 May 16,526 16,282  18,152 18,158  19,238 18,955  15,086 15,000  27,272 16,748  
			 June 14,576 14,652  17,397 16,881  19,127 18,557  15,194 15,509  25,841 25,326  
			 July 8,613 8,477  7,802 7,685  7,132 7,089  6,766 6,818  11,776 11,697  
			 M = Male F = Female I = Indeterminate  Note: Multiple kits can be sent out to a single screening subject if their previous test kit(s) were, for example, a technical fail, spoilt, or a weak positive.

Dental Services

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued on the free provision of treatment by hygienists in NHS dental practices.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has issued no guidance on the free provision of treatment by hygienists in NHS dental practices. The NHS dental system ensures that patients are entitled to all treatment that is clinically needed which the patient is willing to undergo. Which dental professional delivers the treatment is a clinical matter for the practice not the NHS. Where dental hygienists are part of the team in the practice delivering NHS care that treatment will be free where either the patient is exempt from NHS charges or the treatment itself is free. This is not affected whether the treatment is delivered by a hygienist or any other dental professional.

Dental Services: Waiting Lists

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a dental appointment to  (a) receive an examination and  (b) continue treatment was in (i) Wakefield district (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine how best to manage patients seeking national health service dental services, and for dental providers to manage the delivery of a complete course of treatment.
	However, increasing the number of patients seen within NHS dental services is now a formal priority in the NHS Operating Framework for 2008-09 and we have supported this with a very substantial 11 per cent, uplift in overall allocations to PCTs from 1 April 2008.

Down's Syndrome

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many live births of children with Down's syndrome were recorded in each year for which records are available since 1980.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of live birth episodes recorded in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07 are given in the following table. Before 1997-08 problems with data quality of the maternity data mean that figures are not available.
	The figure for each year shows the number of live born recorded births with a primary or secondary diagnosis of Down's syndrome which have taken place in a national health service hospital or in an unspecified location. It does not show births that have taken place in a location that is known to be outside of an NHS hospital setting.
	
		
			   Live born birth episodes 
			 2006-07 373 
			 2005-06 361 
			 2004-05 363 
			 2003-04 312 
			 2002-03 310 
			 2001-02 286 
			 2000-01 277 
			 1999-2000 303 
			 1998-99 271 
			 1997-98 329 
			  Notes: 1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE): A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which the FCE finishes. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. (Episode type used: 3Birth event 6Other Birth event) 2. Data Quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts, and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 3. Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. 4. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. 5. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 6. Number of episodes in which the patient had a (named) primary or secondary diagnosis: These figures represent the number of episodes where the diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in an HES record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. 7. Down's syndrome codes used: Q90.0Trisomy 21, meiotic nondisjunction Q90.1Trisomy 21, mosaicism (mitotic nondisjunction) Q90.--Trisomy 21, translocation Q90.9Down's syndrome, unspecified 8. Liveborn codes used: Z38.0Singleton, born in hospital Z38.2Singleton, unspecified as to place of birth Z38.3Twin, born in hospital Z38.5Twin, unspecified as to place of birth Z38.6Other multiple, born in hospital Z38.8Other multiple, unspecified as to place of birth 8. Ungrossed Data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: HES, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

EDF Energy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment.

Ben Bradshaw: Our records for contracts only go far back as 2002 and some data can only be partially provided for the period before 2004. The information of the contracts that the Department of Health and its Executive Agencies have had with EDF since 2002 is as follows:
	
		
			  Organisation  Dates  Amount ()  Purpose 
			 NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency October 2002 to September 2003 25,535 Electricity supply for Reading Office 
			 NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency October 2002 to September 2003 12,123 Electricity supply for Chester Office 
			 Department of Health October 2002 to October 2003 (1) Electricity supply for London Offices 
			 Department of Health April 2006 to March 2007 194.58 Power supply to part of Richmond House 
			 Department of Health April 2007 to March 2008 210.66 Power supply to part of Richmond House 
			 (1)Data not available

General Practitioners: Private Sector

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which GP contracts were awarded to private sector operators for  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009.

Ben Bradshaw: Primary care trusts are responsible for awarding general practice (GP) contracts to the providers that can offer the best quality and value for money services to meet local needs, including independent, voluntary and third sector organisations and entrepreneurial GPs. The Department does not routinely collect this information.
	However, the Department is providing the local national health service with procurement support through the national Fairness in Primary Care initiative, for which nine contracts have been awarded in 2008; of which these four were awarded to independent sector operators, three to GP-led organisations and two to social enterprises.
	Information on Fairness in Primary Care contracts is in the following table.
	
		
			  PCT scheme  Provider  Type of organisation  Date signed 
			 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT Central Nottingham Clinical Services Social enterprise 2008 
			 Hartlepool PCT Intrahealth Independent sector 2008 
			 County Durham PCT Blackball and Peterlee Practice GP-led 2008 
			 Bolton PCT SSP Health GP-led 2008 
			 Ashton Leigh and Wigan PCT (Scheme B) Intrahealth Independent sector 2008 
			 Ashton Leigh and Wigan PCT (Scheme C) Integral health partnership GP-led 2008 
			 Ashton Leigh and Wigan PCT (Scheme D) Intrahealth Independent sector 2008 
			 Luton PCT SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) Social enterprise 2008 
			 Manchester PCT Care UK Independent sector 2008

Hearing Impaired: Children

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of deaf children in England; and on what methodology his estimate is based.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of deaf children in England is not collected centrally. Instead, data is collected on the number of children who are registered as deaf or hard of hearing. Inclusion on the register is voluntary and therefore, does not provide a complete picture of the number of children in England who are deaf or hard of hearing.
	As at 31 March 2007, 3,400 people aged 0-17 years were registered as deaf in England (4,100 were registered as hard of hearing).
	The data is collected every three years on the 'SSDA910 Register of People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing' by councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities.
	One council did not provide data and therefore an estimate was calculated based on their previous return in 2004 and the change seen nationally.

Hearing Impaired: Children

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged 18 years and under received  (a) unilateral and  (b) bilateral cochlear implants in each year since 2001, broken down by primary care trust.

Dawn Primarolo: Unfortunately, Hospital Episode Statistics cannot provide this data by primary care trust as the data would need to be suppressed due to small numbers, therefore providing little information. Instead a break down provided by strategic health authority of residence has been placed in the Library.

Hepatitis

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many notifications of hepatitis B have been made to the Health Protection Agency and its predecessor bodies; and what estimate he has made of the overall prevalence of hepatitis B  (a) in England in total and  (b) in each primary care trust area in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested about notifications of hepatitis B is shown in the following table.
	The Department estimates that about 0.3 per cent, of the United Kingdom population is chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (about 180,000 people)(2). Estimates of hepatitis B prevalence at primary care trust level are not available.
	
		
			  Statutory notifications of hepatitis B in England: 1997 to 2007 
			   Number of hepatitis B notifications( 1) 
			 1997 670 
			 1998 813 
			 1999 817 
			 2000 985 
			 2001 970 
			 2002 1,014 
			 2003 1,097 
			 2004 1,134 
			 2005 1,239 
			 2006 1,061 
			 2007 1,123 
			 (1) Hepatitis B is notifiable under the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988. (2) The increase in statutorily notified cases of hepatitis B is considered to be due primarily to reports of chronic hepatitis B cases detected through increased patient testing as part of clinical investigation and screening. The increase coincided with the introduction of universal antenatal testing for hepatitis B.  Source: Health Protection Agency

Hepatitis

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) technology appraisals,  (b) interventional guidelines,  (c) clinical guidelines and  (d) public health guidelines which have an effect on hepatitis B services are issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE); what effect each has on hepatitis B; on what date each was issued; which workstreams under consideration by NICE have an effect on hepatitis B services; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The following technology appraisals have been issued by National Institute for Health and Clinical Service (NICE):
	Adefovir dipivoxil and pegylated interferon alpha-2a for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (22 February 2006).
	Entecavir for the treatment of hepatitis B (27 August 2008)
	Telbivudine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (27 August 2008)
	Copies of the technology appraisals have been placed in the Library and are available on NICE's website at:
	www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/TA96/QuickRefGuide/pdf/English,
	www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/TA153/Guidance/pdf/English and
	www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/TA154/QuickRefGuide/pdf/English.
	A technology appraisal on tenofovir disoproxii fumarate for the treatment of hepatitis B will be published in May 2009. It was formally referred to NICE's workstream to appraise its clinical and cost effectiveness.
	There are no published clinical guidelines or guidelines in development that directly addresses the management of hepatitis B services. However, Drug Misuse, psychological interventions (July 2007) addresses the need for those who misuse drugs to reduce their exposure to blood-borne viruses where hepatitis B testing is recommended. A copy of this guidance has been placed in the Library and is available on NICE's website at:
	www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG051NICEguideline2.pdf
	NICE is currently preparing the following public health guidelines, which are relevant to hepatitis B services:
	Needle and syringe programmes: providing injecting equipment to people who will inject drugs (to be published in February 2009)
	Guidance on differences in the uptake of immunisations (including targeted vaccines) in people younger than 19 (to be published in June 2009)
	There are no relevant interventional guidelines, which will have an effect on hepatitis B services.
	These technology appraisal and guidelines for those involved in the management of hepatitis B services will promote good practice in the treatment and prevention of hepatitis B infection.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take during the next 12 months to improve hospital cleanliness in (i) Southend-on-Sea, (ii) Essex and (iii) the Metropolitan Police area of London; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has given a strong public commitment to improving hospital cleanliness and has in place a comprehensive programme of work to improve hospital cleanliness.
	At the national level steps taken to improve cleanliness include;
	a deep-clean of all hospitals during 2007-2008 which will enable trusts' strategic and operational cleaning plans to make provision for ongoing deep cleaning activity, all NHS bodies being subject to the Health Act 2006: Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, which came into force on 1 October 2006.
	Here, the Healthcare Commission (HCC) inspects against the duties set out in the Code, which require them to have appropriate management and clinical governance systems in place to deliver effective infection control, in April this year, specialist HCC inspections began against the Code, thus ensuring that acute trusts will be inspected every year on the cleanliness of the environment.,
	the HCC's annual 'healthcheck' assessing against three national core standards which relate to cleanliness,
	a national Cleanliness Summit held in February 2008, hosted by the NHS Chief Executive,
	Patient environment action teams (PEAT), assessing the quality of the environment, (including cleanliness),
	HCC's annual inpatient survey includes questions about cleanliness of the wards and of toilets,
	at the end of May 2008, there were 5000 matrons in hospitals with more powers over cleaning,
	the Department worked with the National Patient Safety Agency to issue a revised national specifications for Cleanliness in the NHS for hospitals in 2007,
	an annual NHS spend on cleaning that has increased year on year since data collection began in 2000, the 2007-08 total spend being 720 million.
	In the future, the Department will ensure that the momentum and operational focus on cleanliness will continue, steps specifically include;
	the development of a new national standard for monitoring cleanliness in healthcare environments. This work, which will be carried out under the auspices of the British Standards Institute, will focus in the first instance on hospitals in England, and will be developed by leading experts in the field of healthcare cleaning. A draft standard is anticipated by April 2009, in time for the establishment of the Care Quality Commission and its new regulation assessment.
	compiling a compendium of good practice case studies arising from the Deep Clean initiative, (to be published this autumn),
	issuing a national specification for cleanliness relating to GP surgeries and ambulances, (to be published this autumn),
	reviewing the comprehensive NHS Healthcare Cleaning Manual (April 2004), to publish a revised version in summer 2009,
	joint working between with the NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency that will continue to look at new technologies for cleaning.
	Steps taken in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and the Greater London area to improve hospital cleanliness, reflect the national initiatives set out above. More detail of cleanliness-related action in these particular areas is available from the relevant strategic health authority.
	 Source:
	Estates Return Information Collection [ERIC] system.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the possibility of extending the prescription fee to dispensing appliance contractors in the proposed new arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and urology appliances and related services in Primary Care: A Consultation in June 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In the consultation entitled Proposed new arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and urology appliancesand related servicesin Primary Care. June 2008 it has been proposed that dispensing appliance contractors should be required to provide a dispensing service for items that they supply in the normal course of their business and that they should receive a 90p professional dispensing fee for each part IX prescription item dispensed for providing this service.
	This reflects one of the Department's stated aims of the review of the arrangements under part IX of the drug tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliancesand related servicesin primary care is to ensure equitable payment to dispensing appliance contractors and pharmacy contractors for equivalent services.
	An impact assessment was published alongside the consultation.

London Ambulance Service: Vacancies

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies in the London Ambulance Service there are, broken down by borough; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not held in the format requested. The information available on the number of vacancies is for London Ambulance Service NHS Trust as a whole, and not broken down by borough.
	Three month vacancy rates at London Ambulance Service NHS Trust at 31 March 2008 can be found in the table. This is the latest information available.
	The provision of health services, including members of staff at ambulance trusts, is a matter for the local national health service.
	
		
			  I nformation centre for health and social care vacancies survey March 2008: NHS three month vacancies in the London ambulance service NHS trustthree month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   March 2008  September 2007 
			  London ambulance service  Three month vacancy rate percentage  Three month vacancy number  (Staff in post) full- time equivalent  (Staff in post) headcount 
			 Health care assistants and support staff within LDP definitions 0.0 0 0 0 
			 Other health care assistants 0.0 0 0 0 
			 Administrative and clerical staff 0.0 0 1,008 1,046 
			 Ambulance staff 0.0 0 2,938 3,034 
			  Notes: 1. Vacancy data is from the Vacancies Survey 2008. 2. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2008. 3. Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full time equivalents). 4. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post. 5. Three month vacancy rates are calculated using staff in post from the Non-medical Workforce Census September 2007. 6. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. 7. Staff in post data is from the Non-Medical Workforce Census September 2007. 8. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number. 9. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates. 10. Strategic health authority figures are based on trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of health care.  Source: The Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census, Vacancies Survey

Malnutrition: Children

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England were  (a) treated by a GP for undernutrition not caused by an eating disorder and  (b) admitted to hospital for treatment for undernutrition not caused by an eating disorder in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Data on general practitioner activity for those being treated for undernutrtion not caused by a eating disorder is not collected centrally.
	Information on the total admissions to hospital of 0 to 18-year-olds in which the patient had a primary diagnosis of undernutrition without a primary or secondary diagnosis of an eating disorder at the start of his/her stay from 2002-03 to 2006-07 is set out in the following table. This covers national health service hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS.
	
		
			   Total admissions 
			 2006-07 31 
			 2005-06 20 
			 2004-05 18 
			 2003-04 19 
			 2002-03 22 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Maternity Services

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to improve quality and safety in maternity services; and whether there are mechanisms in place to monitor and audit the implementation of the maternity dashboard in trusts, as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer in his report in 2007 and by Lord Darzi in the NHS Next Stage Review;
	(2)  plans to incorporate and implement the latest standards developed by  (a) the Royal Colleges on maternity and  (b) the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists standards on gynaecology in delivering NHS services.

Ann Keen: The Department's strategy for safe, high quality, modernised maternity services is set out in Maternity Matters: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service. A copy has already been placed in the Library. It is for trusts to provide maternity care in line with the clinical standards outlined in guidance issued by the Department, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the professional bodies.
	The new standards for maternity and gynaecological care, developed by the Royal Colleges, and the maternity dashboard, produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), are useful tools, which commissioners and providers are encouraged to use to develop high quality maternity care. The president of the RCOG has written to all clinical directors asking them to use and adapt the dashboard in their maternity units. Its use will be evaluated by the RCOG.

Medical Records: Data Protection

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 25-27WS, on data handling procedures, if he will commission a privacy impact assessment for the NHS Spine database project

Ben Bradshaw: This matter has been carefully considered, but we do not believe that such an assessment would serve any useful purpose at this stage of the project.
	The aim of a privacy impact assessment is to ensure that privacy is considered at every stage of a project involving the handling of information, and that action is taken to mitigate against identified risks to the privacy of individuals. While this is clearly a useful tool for many projects where these matters might otherwise be neglected, the need to safeguard privacy and confidentiality is a necessary deliverable of any health record system, and the management of risk in this area has been a core deliverable of the national health service care records service (the spine project).
	The security safeguards around access to patient data held within the new care records will provide an unprecedented level of assurance compared with existing electronic and paper systems. The Department has also produced what we believe is the most comprehensive privacy statement of any public service in the form of the NHS care record guarantee for England, setting out 12 commitments the NHS. makes to patients in order to protect their confidentiality.
	The Information Commissioner has confirmed that, properly deployed, the new systems have the potential to allow the NHS to better meet the various informational and privacy challenges which it faces than the systems currently in existence, and that he is content with the general approach being taken with the care records service.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13tMay 2008,  Official Report, column 206W, on medical records: databases, whether Connecting for Health is able to comment on the monitoring processes Caldicott Guardians will use in relation to their collective access to the Care Records Service.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Connecting for Health provides information governance policies, guidance and tools to the NHS. However, the local processes are matters of local accountability, and for local discretion.
	NHS Connecting for Health also provides a web-site:
	www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/infogov/caldicott
	on which are posted the minutes of meetings of the UK Council of Caldicott Guardians, back issues of the Caldicott Guardian newsletter, frequently-asked questions, example job descriptions and specifications, and other useful resources and information for those appointed to this important role.

Mental Health Services

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average weekly cost is of commissioning treatment for an individual through  (a) Tier 5 NHS medium secure services,  (b) community forensic services and  (c) Tier 4 NHS mental health services; and how many people received treatment in each category in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: From the 2006-07 reference costs the national average cost, per bed day, for medium secure mental health units is 453. This is for national health service trusts and primary care trusts combined and is sourced from Schedule 4 of the 2006-07 reference costs.
	For the number of people received treatment in Tier 5 NHS medium secure services, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, 1315-16w.
	The information requested on community forensic services is not available centrally.
	Tier 4 services are mainly specialist in-patient services for those people with severe and complex personality disorder but who do not present a risk to other people and who are not detained. For the year 2005-6 these services were treating approximately 100 to 120 people per year on an in-patient basis; and 70 patients per year on a day basis. The cost is approximately 1,500 to 2,000 per week for in- patient services.

MRSA

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in eradicating MRSA infection in NHS hospitals.

Ann Keen: The latest Health Protection Agency data for January to March 2008 shows significant progress, with a reduction in meticillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections of 33 per cent. compared to the same quarter last year. These figures also show a 49 per cent. reduction compared to the quarterly average in 2003-04, so the national health service is on course to reach the current nationwide target to halve the number of MRSA bloodstream infections by the end of March 2008 compared to 2003-04 levels.
	It is not possible to eradicate health care associated infections completely as many health care interventions have some element of risk and sick people are more vulnerable to infection. However, the NHS is seeking to ensure that no avoidable infection occurs, as well as working towards the current nationwide target for MRSA bloodstream infections.
	Under the Better Care for All public service agreement, the NHS is required to sustain progress on reducing the number of MRSA bloodstream infections to 2010-11. This means that the annual number of MRSA bloodstream infections for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 should be less than half of the 2003-04 figure. As we have said in the Clean, Safe Care strategy, we do not, however, expect that this should limit the ambitions of organisations that wish to go further, faster. The NHS has made extraordinary progress in reducing MRSA levels and there is no reason to think that the progress cannot be maintained.

Social Services: Vetting

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether care providers are informed when Criminal Records Bureau checks on their prospective employees are discovered not to have been correctly carried out; what estimate he has made of the number of such checks; and whether he plans to provide compensation to care providers for such cases.

Meg Hillier: I have been asked to reply.
	All the quality control procedures at the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) are geared to achieving the highest levels of accuracy. In addition, the CRB carries out a post disclosure accuracy check that analyses all aspects of the disclosure application and its issue. This check was introduced in 2007 and is based on a statistical sample of disclosure applications and from that sample it can be ascertained that the accuracy rate for 2006-07 is 99.94 per cent. and for 2007-08 is 99.98 per cent. No comparative data is available before these dates and the CRB does not collate information by specific sectors such as the care sector or providers.
	If, as a result of this additional check, the CRB needs to correct a Disclosure, it does so free of charge to the employer and the applicant.
	The CRB operates a central database in order to record transactions that occur during the disclosure process, where applicants' personal data provided on an application form are compared against information held by the police, the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Although the CRB has access to conviction and other information through this process, the police and the other data sources above are the data owners of material held on their respective databases and as such are responsible for the accuracy of information held thereon.
	As with any public sector organisation the CRB operates a Redress scheme where there has been maladministration.

Autism: Intimidation

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect of bullying on children with autism.

Beverley Hughes: The Department has recently commissioned Goldsmiths College to undertake research into the effectiveness of our anti-bullying strategies. This research will provide the necessary quantative and qualitative data needed to draw robust conclusions about the efficacy of different anti-bullying strategies, including those affecting children with special educational needs and disabilities. The findings will be reported to the Department in summer 2009 and summer 2010.

Autism: Mental Health Services

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children with autism or Asperger's syndrome accessed child and adolescent mental health services in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not collected centrally.
	The annual child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) mapping includes a snapshot of the children and young people using CAMHS and what diagnosis is recorded. The latest findings are in figs. 11.73 and 11.74 on page 116 of A profile of child health, child and adolescent mental health and maternity services in England 2007. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	Table 8.11 on page 202 of the Office for National Statistics publication Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004 shows the percentages of children seeking help from CAMHS in 2004 and whether the child had an autistic spectrum disorder. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the  (a) original expected completion date and  (b) current expected completion date is of each Building Schools for the Future project; and what the reasons are for delays in completion of projects in each case where there is a delay.

Jim Knight: Building Schools for the Future is the most ambitious school building programme for a generation. As you would expect of a programme of this scale, there have been challenges and lessons have been learned from the early projects. These have led to improvements in the process supporting the delivery of BSF and in local authority preparations for joining the programme. The key reasons for the delays in some of the early local authority projects are:
	many local authorities in the early waves of the programme found identifying and resourcing the necessary project management skill sets to deliver the programme more challenging than expected;
	a focus on getting it right to ensure that strategies are educationally transformational rather than simply focusing on pace of delivery has led to some authorities taking longer than originally expected to develop their education and procurement strategies; and
	in the early waves the selected local authorities had the biggest challenges to manage, were pioneering the processes, and were at the forefront of resolving unexpected difficulties with innovative solutions.
	The following table provides a comparison between the original expected project completion date and the current expected date for each local authority in the first three waves of BSF. Where specific local issues have impacted on the delivery timetable, these are also described.
	
		
			  Local authority  Original expected project completion date  Current expected project completion date  Major reasons for delay 
			  Wave 1
			 Bradford December 2007 September 2008 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Bristol April 2008 January 2009 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Greenwich April 2009 September 2011 Piloting of non-standard BSF procurement model by local authority has been problematic and has caused considerable delay; Local resourcing difficulties; Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Knowsley September 2009 January 2010 Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Lancashire September 2010 August 2010  
			 Leeds September 2010 September 2011 Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Leicester September 2011 September 2011  
			 Lewisham July 2010 September 2010 Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Manchester September 2009 June 2011 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes; later project rescoping, including integrating seven new academies 
			 Newcastle March 2011 March 2011  
			 Newham January 2009 March 2011 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes; Local resourcing difficulties 
			 Sheffield March 2010 April 2011 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Solihull September 2008 September 2009 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes 
			 STaG December 2012 January 2013 Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Sunderland Jan 2010 September 2010 Challenging original completion expectations; Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Waltham Forest September 2008 September 2008  
			 
			  Wave 2
			 Birmingham September 2010 September 2011 Challenging original completion expectations; Local resourcing difficulties; More time taken to develop transformational strategy; later project rescoping, including integrating new academies 
			 Hackney September 2013 November 2013 Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Haringey March 2011 October 2011 Issues around use of untested processes 
			 Islington September 2011 September 2012 Local resourcing difficulties; More time taken to develop transformational strategy 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull September 2014 September 2014  
			 Lambeth September 2010 September 2010  
			 Liverpool September 2010 September 2011 Local resourcing difficulties; More time taken to develop transformational strategy; Issues around use of untested processes; Piloting of non-standard BSF procurement model by local authority has caused some delay 
			 Middlesbrough September 2011 September 2012 Local resourcing difficulties; changes to procurement strategy to achieve a better value for money outcome caused some delay 
			 Nottingham December 2010 December 2010  
			 Tower Hamlets June 2011 December 2011 Local resourcing difficulties; More time taken to develop transformational strategy 
			 
			  Wave 3
			 Barnsley September 2011 September 2011  
			 Bradford August 2010 August 2010  
			 Derbyshire August 2011 August 2011  
			 Durham September 2011 September 2011  
			 Kent April 2011 July 2011  
			 Luton September 2010 November 2012 Local resourcing difficulties; Issues around identifying new sites for new schools have caused delay to the project 
			 N Lincs June 2011 April 2012 Local resourcing difficulties; More time taken to develop transformational strategy 
			 Salford January 2012 September 2012 More time taken to develop transformational strategy 
			 Sandwell March 2011 July 2011 More time taken to develop transformational strategy 
			 Southwark November 2014 April 2014  
			 Tameside January 2011 February 2011 More time taken to develop transformational strategy 
			 Westminster December 2010 November 2010  
			  Notes: 1. Formal baseline dates were only set for the first wave. Expected completion dates for projects beyond wave 3 are not confirmed until the outline business case is approved. 2. Stoke, a Wave 1 project, is currently reviewing the proposals and timelines put forward in its outline business case following the Children's Services going into intervention and therefore has not been included as the expected finish date has not been finalised.

Departmental Procurement

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of the names and addresses of each organisation that supplied goods and services to his Department in 2007-08, based on the purchase order data held in the Department's financial database.

Edward Balls: The Department's finance system can only produce a list of all organisations including commercial and non-commercial organisations that have received a payment from the Department. We would, however, have to consider, on an individual basis, whether or not disclosure of that information might prejudice the commercial interests of the department or the relevant organisation and that could be done at only disproportionate costs.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessor spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.

Edward Balls: The Department uses marketing companies for raising public awareness on specific issues. Public relations agencies are employed for specific communications tasks, most commonly working alongside our press office to provide campaign support in local, regional and specialist media.
	The expenditure figures in the following table relate to the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework and have been provided on a financial year basis, following guidance provided centrally by Cabinet Office.
	
		
			   
			  Company  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08  2008/09 
			 Band and Brown Communications 19,616  158,886 126,868 
			 Blue Rubicon Ltd.  83,378 184,057 185,024 
			 Cohn and Wolfe  250,000   
			 Consolidated Communications Management Ltd. 476,711 763,718 102,722  
			 Fishburn Hedges   71,396 52,652 
			 Geronimo Communications35,815 
			 JFL Search and Selection  209,849 48,660  
			 Portfolio Metrica Ltd.  6,325   
			 Team Talk Training18,392 
			 The Red Consultancy Ltd.  59,880 458,531 143,280 
			 Total 496,327 1,373,150 1,024,252 562,031

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many staff in his Department and its predecessors have been seconded to public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many staff from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies have been seconded to his Department and its predecessor in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: Since my Department was formed as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007, no staffs have been seconded to or from public relations or public affair firms, or consultancies.
	Information for the previous years regarding the predecessor Department (Department for Education and Skills) is not available.

Departmental Surveillance

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications his Department and its predecessor have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to  (a) undertake directed surveillance,  (b) use covert human intelligence sources,  (c) acquire communications data and  (d) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months.

Edward Balls: Figures on public authority use of covert techniques controlled by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ('RIPA') are published annually by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner who each have particular inspection and oversight responsibilities under RIPA. The latest reports were laid before Parliament and copies placed in the House Library on 22 July. The figures provided in the reports are not broken down by individual public authority use of specific covert technique as, depending on the particular technique and authority using it, this could either reveal sensitivities or be misleading. The question of further disclosure for any particular public authority is a matter for the relevant Commissioner.

EU Law

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many officials in his Department are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or administration of EU legislation and consequent policies.

Beverley Hughes: The Joint International Unit (JIU) supports both the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills by promoting and defending the interests of the two Departments on EU business; overseeing the delivery of EU education; training and youth programmes and fulfilling our treaty obligations in respect of European Schools. A total of 15 JIU staff work on this EU business for the two Departments.

Exams: Special Educational Needs

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of children classified as having a  (a) hearing and  (b) vision impairment achieved the national standard in key stage (i) 1, (ii) 2 and (iii) 3 tests in each year since the introduction of the tests;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of children classified as having a  (a) hearing and  (b) vision impairment achieved five A* to C grades in their GCSE exams in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of children classified as having a  (a) hearing and  (b) vision impairment achieved five A* to C grades including mathematics and English in their GCSE exams in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The Department only collects data by type of special educational need for children at School Action Plus or with statements. School Action Plus, under the SEN Code of Practice, is where a school receives some external help to meet a child's SEN. An SEN statement is drawn up by a local authority, following an assessment, where it is necessary to determine the special educational provision which a child's learning difficulties call for.
	The available 2007 information is attached to the Statistical First Release (SFR) National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2006/07.
	KS2 can be found in Table 73 (key stage 2 attainment by SEN stage and primary SEN type) and at KS4 is in Table 74 (key stage 4 attainment for pupils at School Action Plus or with statements by primary SEN type). This information can be found at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/SFR38_2007_Additional_100708.xls.
	Similar analysis was also carried out in 2006 and the relevant information is given as follows.
	This information is not available for years before 2005 when type of SEN information for pupils was not collected. Information for 2005 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Having published this data in 2007 the Department will publish it for subsequent years when the data are available.
	The analysis only relates to the primary SEN type of pupils. Some of these children may also have a secondary SEN type which has not been taken into consideration in the analysis.
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils achieving level 2 or above in key stage 1 assessments 
			  Number of pupils with a hearing impairment at School Action Plus = 505 
			  Number of pupils with a visual impairment at School Action Plus = 320 
			  Number of pupils with a hearing impairment with statements = 415 
			  Number of pupils with a visual impairment with statements = 230 
			   Reading  Writing  Maths  Science 
			  School Action Plus 
			 Hearing impairment 73 65 80 78 
			 Visual impairment 64 58 75 73 
			  
			  Statement 
			 Hearing impairment 40 34 53 45 
			 Visual impairment 52 51 62 61 
			  Note: Figures relate to seven-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) in maintained schools. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above at key stage 2 tests 
			   English  Maths  Science 
			   Percentage achieving Level 4+  Total eligible pupils  Percentage achieving Level 4+  Total eligible pupils  Percentage achieving Level 4+  Total eligible pupils 
			  School Action Plus   
			 Hearing impairment 63 550 61 550 75 550 
			 Visual impairment 67 290 63 290 81 290 
			
			  Statement   
			 Hearing impairment 30 495 36 500 48 500 
			 Visual impairment 48 300 49 300 66 300 
			  Note: Figures relate to 11-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) in maintained schools. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above at key stage 3 tests 
			   English  Maths  Science 
			   Percentage achieving Level 5+  Total eligible pupils  Percentage achieving Level 5+  Total eligible pupils  Percentage achieving Level 5+  Total eligible pupils 
			  School Action Plus   
			 Hearing impairment 59 655 63 655 57 655 
			 Visual impairment 59 285 68 285 65 285 
			
			  Statement   
			 Hearing impairment 29 565 39 580 31 585 
			 Visual impairment 47 395 53 390 49 390 
			  Note: Figures relate to 13-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) in maintained schools. 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSE A*-C grades (or equivalent) 
			  Number of pupils with a hearing impairment at School Action Plus = 595 
			  Number of pupils with a visual impairment at School Action Plus = 240 
			  Number of pupils with a hearing impairment with statements = 505 
			  Number of pupils with a visual impairment with statements = 370 
			   5 or more GCSE A*-C grades (or equivalent)  5 or more GCSE A*-C grades including English and Mathematics (or equivalent) 
			  School Action Plus   
			 Hearing impairment 46 33 
			 Visual impairment 46 32 
			
			  Statement   
			 Hearing impairment 31 18 
			 Visual impairment 44 30 
			  Note: Figures relate to pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained schools.

Languages: Primary Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many primary school language teachers were recruited in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many  (a) primary teachers and  (b) primary teaching assistants have been given training to teach foreign languages to their pupils since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information given in the table shows recruitment to initial teacher training courses in primary modern languages. In total nearly 4,000 trainees have gone through these courses, with more to be trained over the next few years. The Training and Development Agency is also working with teacher training institutions to provide additional routes to boost the primary work force teaching languages. They are also developing a pilot programme of retraining modules for secondary language teachers to support language development in primary schools.
	The Government fund the British Council to run the Primary Teacher Project, through which primary teachers undertake a two week programme of language tuition through a partner institution in Europe, to develop their confidence and linguistic competence. Some 300 teachers went on this programme in 2007-08 and it is planned that around 400 will do so in 2008-09.
	Teachers can also be supported through the increased funding we have given through local authorities to support the delivery of primary languages32.5 million in 2008-09, up from 27.5 million in 2007-08. Schools can use this for a variety of purposes, including to pay for in-service training for teachers and teaching assistants, or for upskilling primary teachers. CILT, the National Centre for Languages, also runs training courses for local authority staff and schools.
	
		
			  Number of new entrants on primary modern foreign language ITT courses between 2005/06 and 2007/08 
			   Total number of new entrants 
			  ITT subject  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08( 1) 
			 PrimaryFrench 370 390 420 
			 PrimaryGerman 80 100 90 
			 PrimaryItalian 30 40 40 
			 PrimarySpanish 160 180 170 
			 PrimaryPortuguese 10 10 0 
			 Primarytotal modern foreign languages 650 710 720 
			 (1) Provisional.  Notes: 1. Figures for mainstream trainees include Universities and other HE institutions, SCITT and OU, but exclude employment based routes. 2. Figures for 2007/08 are provisional and are subject to change. 3. Figures include trainees who are re-sitting all or part of their ITT programme. 4. Figures trainees on courses of one to five year durations. 5. Figures are individually rounded to the nearest 10 and may not sum.  Source: TDA ITT Trainee Number Census 
		
	
	Information on Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) specialisms has recently started to be collected by the Training and Development Agency. The available data indicate that in 2007/08 there were some 40 HLTAs in primary schools specialising in modern foreign languages.
	No other information is centrally collected on the training provided to teachers and teaching assistants to teach foreign languages to pupils.

Languages: Secondary Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many secondary schools have set a benchmark to increase the number of key stage 4 pupils taking a modern language; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Since my reply of 12 November 2007 to the hon. Member no further research has been carried out concerning this benchmark. However at the end of September we will start a three year evaluation, reporting in July 2011, looking at what impact the measures recommended in the Languages Review have had on take up at key stage 4, including looking at how many secondary schools have set the 50-90 percentage benchmark.

National Curriculum Tests

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which organisations submitted a bid for the current contract to mark key stage two and three standard assessment tests;
	(2)  how much each organisation that submitted a bid for the current contract to mark key stage two and three standard assessment tests proposed to charge to deliver the contract.

Jim Knight: The administration and marking of national curriculum tests is a function of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) that is delivered independently of Government. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) is responsible for the marking process. I have therefore asked David Gee, Managing Director of the NAA, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his letter has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from David Gee, dated 18 September 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, has asked me to write to you concerning two recent parliamentary questions pertaining to the organisations that submitted bids for the contract to provide external marking and data collection services for key stage 2  3 national curriculum tests.
	The organisations who submitted bids for the National Curriculum Tests contract were Capita, Edexcel, ETS, Logica CMG, Research Machines (RM), and Harcourt. These were shortlisted to Edexcel, ETS and LogicaCMG. Bids were received from Edexcel and ETS. LogicaCMG declined to submit a final bid.
	The amount each bidder proposed to charge is commercial in confidence and the NAA is therefore not in a position to provide the information you seek. If this situation changes, or if the organisations concerned publicly state their involvement in the procurement process and the nature of their bid, I will write to you again.

National Curriculum Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the oral statement of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 680, on SATS, what factors Ofqual took into account in determining that the quality of marking of this year's key stage 2 and key stage 3 national curriculum tests was at least as good as in previous years.

Jim Knight: The remit of Ofqual is to regulate the national curriculum assessments to ensure standards are maintained and assessments are fair and effective. Ofqual operates independently from Government, and I have asked Kathleen Tattersall, chair of Ofqual, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of this letter will be placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Isabel Nisbet, dated 15 September 2008:
	DCSF have forwarded the following Parliamentary Question of Ofqual as it falls within Ofqual's remit.
	To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, pursuant to the Oral Statement of 22(nd) July 2008, what factors Ofqual took into account in determining that the quality of marking of this year's key stage 2 and key stage 3 national curriculum tests was at least as good as in previous years.
	In response to this question Ofqual has rigorously monitored this year's national curriculum tests. It was assured by the National Assessment Agency that the criteria for marker appointments were in line with previous years. Ofqual attended marker training events, level setting meetings and script scrutiny meetings as well as checking that all procedures in place for the marking of the scripts were in line with our code of practice. The marking quality assurance measures in place for this year's tests have been good practice and included more systematic and frequent comparison with a benchmark against a national standard rather than a check by a team leader. From the monitoring of quality assurance processes Ofqual carried out it concluded that while it was not possible to predict the volume of reviews schools will request this year, the quality of the marking is at least as good as previous years.
	I am copying this letter to Sue White at DCSF to ensure that the copy of this letter is kept at the House Library.

National Curriculum Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  pursuant to the oral statement of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 680, on SATS, if he will place in the Library the advice to him which stated that ministerial statements intended to influence the outcome of contractual discussions between the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and ETS Europe would jeopardise the public interest;
	(2)  what the evidential basis is for his assertion that a Minister can move the responsibility for redress from where it presently falls under the contract between the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and ETS Europe.

Jim Knight: The Department does not routinely publish advice to Ministers. It would only be in rare circumstances that such publication would be in the public interest. Publication would adversely affect the candour of officials' advice to Ministers and discourage the exploration of radical options. It would undermine the confidential relationship between officials and Ministers and compromise ministerial thinking space. There is also a public interest in protecting the principle of legal professional privilege.
	In his oral statement to the House on 22 July 2008 the Secretary of State made clear that the contractual discussions between the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and ETS Europe were commercially, legally and financially highly sensitive. It was in the public interest that QCA should be allowed to conclude those discussions in a timely, orderly and rigorous fashion.
	They were concluded on 15 August when the QCA announced that they had agreed with ETS to dissolve their five-year contract for national curriculum tests operations with immediate effect.

National Curriculum Tests: Statistics

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether the (Provisional) SFR National Curriculum Assessments at key stage three in England 2008 will be published on the second Tuesday in August as was originally scheduled.

Jim Knight: The Statistical First Release (SFR) National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 3 in England, 2008 (Provisional) was published on 12 August 2008, the second Tuesday in August as scheduled. This SFR can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000805/index.shtml.
	The SFR published on 12 August did not contain local authority data. A statement about the publication of Local Authority data can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

Primary Education: Reading

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to promote reading in primary education.

Jim Knight: Encouraging children to read more is essential to increasing their chances of success, both at school and beyond.
	The national strategies continue to provide a wide range of materials to support teachers, school librarians and others to ensure schools provide both high quality teaching and learning in reading, and promote an environment which encourages children's enthusiasm for reading and helps them achieve their potential. In primary schools and in response to the publication of the Rose Review we have ensured that all children learn to read through the use of systematic phonics. We are also now rolling out the Every Child a Reader programme for five and six year old children struggling with their reading.
	In addition there are a range of other programmes to promote reading which are available to all schools. For instance, the Reading Connects initiative supports schools in developing a whole-school reading culture; the School Reading Champions initiative uses the motivational power of male role models to inspire boys to read more; and the Family Reading Campaign supports schools in reaching out to parents and the wider family and helping them to encourage children to enjoy reading. All initiatives provide schools with tried and tested practical ideas to promote reading and a wide range of free resources.
	Most recently, in June of this year, I announced the extension of the Boys into Books programme to the primary sector. This project is bringing over half a million new books into public libraries from September for use on long term loan in every state primary school in England.
	Beyond the classroom, the National Year of Reading is helping to increase awareness of the pleasures and benefits of reading in all its forms, for children and families alike.

Pupil Exclusions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many pupils were permanently excluded more than  (a) once and  (b) twice in (i) England and (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many pupils were suspended more than  (a) once,  (b) five times and  (c) 10 times in (i) England and (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The available information on the number of permanent exclusions is shown in the table. Information on pupils who have been permanently excluded more than once can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of pupils with more than  (a) one,  (b) five and  (c) 10 fixed period exclusions is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The available information showing the number of times pupils have been excluded for a fixed period is published annually by the Department. These figures can be found in the Statistical First Release DCSF: Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England, the latest of which refer to the 2006/07 school year and can be accessed at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000793/index.shtml (table 14).
	
		
			  Primary, secondary and all special schools, number of permanent exclusions( 1, 2, 3, 4) , 2002/03 to 2006/07, Yorkshire and the Humber 
			   Number of permanent exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 5) 
			  2002/03   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 880 0.11 
			 England 9,340 0.12 
			
			  2003/04   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 910 0.11 
			 England 9,990 0.13 
			
			  2004/05   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 840 0.10 
			 England 9,570 0.13 
			
			  2005/06   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 770 0.10 
			 England 9,330 0.12 
			
			  2006/07   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 670 0.09 
			 England 8,680 0.12 
			 (1) Figures for maintained primary, secondary and special schools are as confirmed by local authorities as part of the data checking exercise. Figures for CTCs, academies and non-maintained special schools are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed. (2) National totals and regional totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. (3) Includes middle schools as deemed, CTCS and academies. (4) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (5) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) pupils in primary, secondary and special schools, excluding dually registered pupils in special schools in January each year.  Source: School Census.

Pupil Exclusions: Offensive Weapons

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were suspended or excluded from school for possession of an offensive weapon on school grounds in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: Data is not collected centrally on the number of pupils who have been suspended or excluded from school for possession of an offensive weapon.
	The Department does collect information on the reasons why pupils have been excluded, either for a fixed period or permanently. However this does not included a specific category relating to possession of a weapon, this was collected for the first time for 2003-04. Information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions, by reason, broken down by local authority, and covering the academic years 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The latest information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by reason, broken down by local authority has been published at the following link:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000793/index.shtml

School Meals

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government plans to take to improve the nutritional content of school meals.

Beverley Hughes: The Department is taking a number of steps to improve the nutritional content of school meals.
	New food-based standards were introduced in September 2006 for school lunches and from September 2007 for other school food. Nutrient-based standards were introduced for primary school lunches in September 2008 and will be introduced in secondary and special schools in September 2009.
	We are investing over 650 million between 2005 and 2011 to help improve school food and keep school lunch prices down. This includes 220 million over the three years 2005-06 to 2007-08 to assist authorities and schools in improving school lunches and other school food; 240 million between 2008 and 2011 to support the costs of school lunches; 150 million capital funding to build and refurbish kitchen and dining facilities; and funding to establish FEAST centres to train catering staff. We are also providing an extra 6 million over the next three years for the School Food Trust to promote healthy food to young people and raise take up.

School Meals: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary school children at schools in West Lancashire constituency have access to healthy school meals.

Beverley Hughes: All schools have to meet the food-based nutritional standards introduced in September 2006 for school lunches and the standards for other school food introduced in September 2007. Nutrient-based standards were introduced for primary school lunches in September 2008 and will be introduced in secondary and special schools in September 2009.
	I refer the hon. Member to the replies given previously for question numbers 196856 and 221728.

Schools: Athletics

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the provision of athletic equipment in schools.

Beverley Hughes: There is no departmental programme for this provision. A decision to purchase athletic equipment would be made locally by the school and based on their priorities.

Schools: Buildings

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools are using temporary mobile classroom accommodation in each region; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Data on school temporary buildings were supplied to my Department by local education authorities in 2001, 2003 and 2005. However, checks indicated that the completeness and quality of the data was not good enough to accurately assess the numbers of schools using temporary mobile classrooms.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under 700 million in 1996-97 to 6.7 billion in 2008-09 and will rise further to 8.0 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of poor quality temporary accommodation. Given the high levels of funding, authorities have the opportunity to replace temporary buildings where they are considered to be unsuitable.
	Modern, high quality mobile or demountable buildings can provide a good environment for teaching and learning where there is a short-term need. They might be used, for instance, to cope with a temporary increase in pupil numbers at a school, or as an alternative to transporting children elsewhere when there is building work under way.

Schools: Closed Circuit Television

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary schools and  (b) secondary schools in England have CCTV cameras in children's toilets.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information. Cameras can be installed in common areas in toilet or washroom facilities, where misbehaviour may take place, so long as privacy is not infringed. The Information Commissioner's Office has produced a Code of Practice on the use of CCTV which schools can use.

Schools: Epilepsy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what specialist epilepsy schools there are in East Lancashire.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not hold information on schools that cater specifically for pupils with epilepsy as it is a condition that falls within the broader descriptions of special educational needs used to categorise and classify special schools. Most pupils with epilepsy can be educated within mainstream schools but depending on the severity of the condition a pupil may be educated in a variety of different types of special school. We are aware of one independent school in Lancashire, Oliver House School, which caters for children with epilepsy.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much money for schools from his Department was not devolved to local authorities or schools but allocated directly by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the  (a) purpose of the funding and  (b) amount spent was.

Edward Balls: The following list provides a breakdown of the schools budget not devolved to schools or local authorities in DCSF.
	
		
			million 
			  Purpose  
			 School Performance and Reform 1 
			 School Standards 459 
			 School Resources 865 
			 Schools Commissioner 1 
			 Academies and Capital 66 
			 Total 1,392

Schools: Recruitment

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of maintained schools expenditure on advertising for recruitment in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The Department has not made any estimates on maintained schools expenditure on advertising for recruitment. It is a matter for each local authority and its schools to determine locally.

Truancy: Yorkshire and the Humber

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many secondary school pupils in Yorkshire and the Humber played truant in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many persistent truants there were in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not maintain records of 'truancy'.
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy. The available information showing the percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence in secondary schools is given in the table. Information which includes CTCs and academies can be provided only at disproportionate cost for the years prior to 2005/06.
	Information on persistent absence relates to persistent absentees, these are pupils who are absent for more than 20 per cent. of possible sessions of attendance. This information is available for secondary schools from 2005/06 and for primary schools from 2006/07 and is given in the table.
	
		
			  Secondary schools( 1, 2) , percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence, Yorkshire and the Humber, 2002/03 to 2006/07( 3) 
			   2002/03( 3)  2003/04( 3)  2004/05( 3)  2005/06( 3)  2006/07( 3) 
			  Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence:  
			  Yorkshire and the Humber  
			 LA maintained secondary schools(2) 1.47 1.49 1.58 1.74 1.82 
			 State funded secondary schools(4)1.75 1.88 
			   
			  England  
			 LA maintained secondary schools(2) 1.07 1.14 1.23 1.42 1.50 
			 State funded secondary schools(4)1.42 1.52 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Excludes CTCs and academies. (3) For years 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2004/05 data was collected via the School Absence Survey, for 2005/06 and 2006/07 data was collected via the School Census. (4) Includes CTCs and academies, two academies opened in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2005 (one had previously been a CTC) with a further four in 2006.  Source: School Absence Survey and School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1, 2) , percentage of enrolments who are classed as persistent absentees( 3) , Yorkshire and the Humber, 2002/03 to 2006/07( 3) 
			   Maintained primary schools( 1)  State funded secondary schools( 1, 2) 
			   2005/06  2006/07  2005/06  2006/07 
			  Percentage of enrolments who are classed as persistent absentees( 3) 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber n/a 1.8 8.4 7.7 
			 England n/a 1.8 7.1 6.7 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes CTCs and academies, two academies opened in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2005 (one had previously been a CTC) with a further four in 2006. (3) Persistent absentees are defined as having more than 63 sessions of absence (authorised and unauthorised) during the year.  Source: School Census.

Olympic Games 2012

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many full-time equivalent members of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its associated public bodies are working on projects relating to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games; how many of them are working on (i) project management, (ii) legacy planning, (iii) project oversight and (iv) financial oversight; and what plans he has for future staffing levels in each case.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is taking advantage of the opportunities which the games affords to enhance skills levels across a wide range of occupations and industrial sectors, in line with the broader objectives of the national Skills Strategy. There are 2.1 full-time equivalent members of staff allocated to co-ordinating this work within the Department, and 9.7 full-time equivalent members of staff dealing with this within the Learning and Skills Council across England. They deal with all aspects of project management, legacy planning and project oversight. Future staffing levels for this work are expected to remain at this level.

Training: Elderly

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what training is available for people over 60 years old to  (a) improve and  (b) obtain generic financial skills.

David Lammy: The Government are committed to ensuring that older people in every community, both within and outside the workforce, have access to suitable high quality learning opportunities. Our strategy for world class skills and our recent wide-ranging consultation on informal adult learning have been designed to ensure that adults everywhere, whatever their age or background, have the opportunity to improve their skills, prospects, quality of life and personal wellbeing.
	Increasing financial literacy and helping older people to make informed decisions about working longer and saving for retirement are key aims of Opportunity Age, but the Government have also set out a wider, long-term strategy for improving the personal financial capability of people from all sections of the UK population. This is our response to the Thoresen Review, published in March 2008, which reports that large numbers of people from all sections of society are not taking basic steps to plan ahead, such as saving sufficiently for their retirement or putting money aside for when unexpected expenses occur. Many are unwittingly taking on significant financial risks because they struggle to choose products that truly meet their needs. Adults without basic literacy and numeracy are highly likely to struggle with their personal finances.
	Since its launch in 2001, the Skills for Life strategy has provided in excess of 3 million to fund numeracy and financial capability. This has been embedded into the wider national strategy to improve adult literacy, language and numeracy. The programme is run on behalf of my Department by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). Its aim is to address the needs of basic literacy, language and numeracy learners through financial literacy, and in so doing develop their capability to make effective decisions about the use and management of money. In developing the programme NIACE have resources and pilots in several areas. These projects are testing effective ways of engaging adults of all ages and delivering financial literacy in community settings.